Berkshire Taconic Community Foundation

New $105,000 Margaret Derwin Scholarship Fund Established at Berkshire Taconic Application Deadline: April 1

March 2, 2011

SHEFFIELD, MA—Berkshire Taconic Community Foundation today announced the establishment of The Margaret Derwin Scholarship for Housatonic Valley Regional High School. The fund will honor Derwin’s memory by annually selecting one student in their Junior year at Housatonic Valley Regional High School as the Margaret Derwin Scholar. The selected student will receive support up to $5,000 for a national or overseas summer community service program for July/August 2011 and up to $25,000 for tuition and associated costs of attending the college of their choice anywhere in the United States for 2012/13 and each of the following three years of college.

Said Jennifer Dowley, president of Berkshire Taconic Community Foundation, “This scholarship is a tremendous opportunity for a passionate student from our region. Our community needs the next generation of leaders who are knowledgeable, flexible and fully informed about the world’s resources. An excellent education is the keystone. The Derwin Scholarship is a community effort to support the next generation of leaders from the Northwest Corner.”

Eligible students will be in their Junior year at Housatonic Valley Regional High School and will have been enrolled as a student there for two years prior to application. The ideal candidate for this scholarship is an exceptional student with financial need for whom this scholarship will be a life-changing opportunity, who can demonstrate ambition and drive through attempts to secure other support, and who is proactive in pursuing every available opportunity to succeed with his/her goals. The scholarship is intended for a student who will use his/her education as a springboard to a strong career, showing leadership and commitment to giving back to their community and who will become a mentor to future Derwin scholars.

The deadline for applications is April 1, 2011. Applications are available online or by calling 413.299.0370. Applications will be reviewed by Berkshire Taconic staff to ensure that eligibility requirements are met. A selection committee will then review them and make their determination based on established criteria. The announcement of the Margaret Derwin Scholar will be made by mid May, 2011.

Once selected, the successful candidate is required to maintain their academic standing in their senior year at Housatonic Valley Regional High School. The selection committee will identify a runner-up candidate in the event that the winner does not maintain good academic standing in his/her senior year. The Scholarship will be renewed annually throughout undergraduate college years provided the Derwin scholar maintains his/her academic standing and remains in financial need.

About Margaret Derwin

This scholarship is named for Margaret Derwin who graduated from Housatonic Valley Regional High School in 2005. Margaret grew up in North Canaan and decided that she wanted to be a social worker. Through her own efforts she learned of a program at Wheelock College in eastern Massachusetts, applied and was accepted. She then proceeded to assemble numerous scholarships and private support for her tuition for all four years. She was a disciplined scholar who loved life and was on the Dean’s List for all her time at Wheelock. After receiving her BA, Margaret decided to go on to graduate school. Wheelock had the program she was interested in and again Margaret succeeded in securing sufficient scholarship monies to pay for her Master’s program. Just before she was to enter the program, she was diagnosed with Ewing’s Sarcoma, a malignant bone tumor. Margaret fought her illness valiantly with medical support from the Dana Farber Cancer Institute in Boston but regrettably died in November 2010.

Margaret was a first rate student and even more was determined to follow her dream in spite of any obstacle that she faced. And there were many. She evidenced a kind of spunk and spirit that, had she lived, would have led her to exciting positions in the world where she would have easily been a leader and an inspiration to many others. Margaret had the ability to see beyond her own horizons and imagine a life that was bigger than her surroundings. She had talent certainly but also the important attribute of high aspirations. These are the characteristics of future Derwin Scholars.

"Margaret was a very positive presence in class,” said Margaret’s art teacher, Warren Prindle. “She approached each challenge with a creative spark, and her enthusiasms reached beyond the project, and uplifted those around her. Her creations reflect her youthful vitality and her optimistic spirit."

Photos of Margaret Derwin

The Margaret Derwin Scholarship Fund

A group of Northwest Corner residents has pooled resources to make the Margaret Derwin Scholarship available. The donors want to encourage our public high school students to dream big, set aspirations high and take firm steps to achieve what might seem impossible but is achievable with vision, talent and effort. The donors fully believe that it is essential for our students to set their sights high and move toward a cherished goal incrementally and steadily. The Derwin Scholarship will reward those who do.

Berkshire Taconic Community Foundation builds stronger communities and improves the quality of life for all residents of northwest Litchfield County, CT; Berkshire County, MA; and Columbia County and northeast Dutchess County, NY, acting as an agent for positive change in the region. Since 1987, Berkshire Taconic has managed a growing collection of charitable funds created by individuals, families and businesses. Each year, the foundation distributes over $7 million through grants and scholarships for programs in the arts and education, health and human services and environmental protection, helping thousands of donors achieve their philanthropic goals and hundreds of nonprofits carry on their good work. Berkshire Taconic is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit public charity.

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