Valley Community Foundation Wraps Up 2023 Scholarship Season

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

August 11, 2023 (Derby, Conn.) – The Valley Community Foundation (VCF) completed another scholarship season, reinforcing its dedication to fostering higher education and promoting student achievement.

For the 2023 school year, VCF disbursed 115 scholarships totaling more than $215,000 throughout the Valley and several surrounding towns. Some of the scholarships help students looking to attend two-year or four-year colleges and some support students that want to attend trade schools.

“We’re thrilled to have so many people interested in helping our young adults to seek further education after graduating from high school,” said Sharon Closius, VCF’s President and CEO. “Most of us want to see our children move on and be successful. The challenge our young people face today is they need to find jobs that provide them with a living wage that covers the cost of food, rent, utilities, transportation, childcare and other necessities of life.”

The 85 scholarships currently at VCF vary and are all unique. Many times, families establish scholarships to memorialize someone and set up the criteria of the scholarship based specifically on their loved one’s life and school experience.

Starting in 2018, VCF made a commitment to help build up the scholarship programs in Valley schools as part of its Five-Year Strategic Plan. In the last five years, VCF has added 21 scholarship funds and now has more than $3.4 million in scholarship assets.

VCF oversees the financial management of the scholarships, but the schools control the selection process and determine the recipients of the awards. VCF is also crafting custom brochures for each school, which school staff can use to open a conversation with Valley families interested in establishing a scholarship fund or a fund that can support specific school programs.

“Our Valley schools have very proud alumnae and there are some families who can boast generations of family members attending a school,” Closius said. “Establishing a permanent scholarship in the family’s name not only honors the family history but also reflects the gratitude they have for their school experience.”

“The very existence of the VCF scholarship program instills a sense of community solidarity,” Closius said. “It sends a strong message that we value our students and want them to build a solid foundation for a bright future.”

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Media contact: David Rivera
Communications & Marketing Manager
Email David Rivera
(203) 751-9162

About the Valley Community Foundation:

Established in 2004, each year the Valley Community Foundation (VCF) distributes approximately $2 million in grants that support local nonprofits and people they serve. In addition to grantmaking, VCF works in strong partnership with The Community Foundation for Greater New Haven (TCF) to promote philanthropy in Ansonia, Derby, Oxford, Seymour and Shelton and receives funding from The Gates Fund and other preference funds at TCF that benefit the Valley. For more information, visit valleyfoundation.org. Valley Community Foundation, 253-A Elizabeth Street, Derby, CT 06418, (203) 751-9162.