Southern Wayne County Regional Chamber Scholarship

The purpose of the Southern Wayne County Regional Chamber Scholarship Program is to assist students from Southern Wayne County communities to pursue a program of undergraduate education. Up to two renewable scholarships of $1,000 each will be awarded to students entering college as a freshman in the fall. Award determinations will be made with the assistance of the Southern Wayne County Regional Chamber Scholarship Program Advisory Committee.

In making the selections, the Advisory Committee will award one scholarship to a student who has overcome an at-risk barrier during their education career and one scholarship to a student who has pursued a vocational or career technical curriculum in high school. Scholarship recipients may reapply in each of three additional years, if appropriate.

The scholarship materials are available online on the Community Foundation for Southeast Michigan Website at http://cfsem.org/scholarships

March 15th is the priority date for applying.

BACKGROUND

The Southern Wayne County Regional Chamber Fund was established to provide educational scholarships to selected residents of the Southern Wayne County Regional Chamber service area to attend post-secondary institutions and to support other charitable activities in Southern Wayne County. The Fund was created with contributions from the Chamber, its member businesses and individuals. At present, the Fund is being used solely to provide scholarships. Beginning with the 2002-2003 scholarship year, the Southern Wayne County Regional Chamber has named the career technical school scholarship to honor the memory of Heinz Prechter. Heinz Prechter was an outstanding entrepreneur, civic and business leader of national prominence who was closely identified with the Southern Wayne County region.

WHO MAY APPLY?

To be eligible, applicants must be under the age of 22, a graduate of, or senior at, a high school in the Southern Wayne County Regional Chamber geographic area, and entering their first year of college in the fall. The communities served by the Southern Wayne County Regional Chamber are Allen Park, Belleville, Brownstown, Flat Rock, Gibraltar, Grosse Ile, Charter Township of Huron, Lincoln Park, Melvindale, River Rouge, Riverview, Rockwood, Romulus, Southgate, Sumpter, Taylor, Trenton, Van Buren Township, Woodhaven, and Wyandotte.

Applicants should have a career goal in business or a technical field.

WHAT ARE THE CRITERIA FOR SELECTION?

• Strong scholastic performance while in high school or significant academic improvement in each successive year, achieving the equivalent of a 2.5 average in the last two years or at graduation. School attendance will also be an important consideration.
• Extra-curricular activities, volunteer involvement in the community, and paid work experience.
• Priority will be given to selecting one recipient who has pursued a vocational or career technical curriculum in high school and one recipient o is identified as having overcome at least one of the following at-risk barriers:
  • Single-parent family or family problems, as identified by an outside agency
  • Economically disadvantaged, as defined by Federal Health and Human Service poverty guidelines
  • Physical handicap
  • Substance abuse recovery
  • Ex-offender
  • Teen parent
  • Ward of the court or foster child
• Application or acceptance as a full-time, first-year student at an accredited post-secondary educational certificate/degree program. Such institutions must be tax-exempt educational institutions under the Internal Revenue Code.
• All awards will be made without regard to race, creed, color, sex, religion, national origin, sexual orientation or sexual identification.

WHAT ARE THE AWARD CONDITIONS?

• If an award recipient withdraws from the educational institution, the award will be canceled and the unspent portion, if any, will be returned to the Foundation.
• If a recipient elects to attend a different educational institution than originally selected, the Southern Wayne County Regional Chamber Scholarship Program award will not be forfeited if the Community Foundation for Southeast Michigan is notified in advance of such a transfer. The newly elected educational institution must be an accredited and tax-exempt educational institution or an accredited, non-exempt educational institution member of the Southern Wayne County Regional Chamber.

HOW WILL SCHOLARSHIP AWARD PAYMENTS BE MADE?

• Award payments will be made to the Financial Aid Office, or its equivalent, of the tax-exempt educational institution in the name of the educational institution. Award payments for students who elect to attend non-exempt educational institution that is a member of the Southern Wayne County Regional Chamber will be made directly to the recipient following submission of a certification of full-time enrollment.
• Award payments will be made as soon as (1) the recipient has signed and returned the Terms of Grant Agreement to the Foundation, (2) the recipient has notified the Foundation of the college/university in which he/she intends to enroll, (3) the college/ university has verified the student’s enrollment, and (4) the college/university has verified that it will not reduce previously awarded grant aid as a result of this award, unless required by federal or state law.
• Awards are subject to state and federal income tax guidelines.

ARE AWARDS RENEWABLE?

• Once an applicant has received a Southern Wayne County Regional Chamber Scholarship Program Award, he/she is eligible to reapply for scholarship aid for up to three additional years during which he/she remains a full-time student in a degree/ certificate program at an accredited educational institution, and maintains a grade point average of 2.5 (or better), and fulfills the other criteria of the program. Renewal is not assured, however.
• Recipients denied renewal no longer qualify for reapplication.
• Renewal of the Southern Wayne County Regional Chamber Scholarship Program Award will not depend upon the continued residence of the recipient or his/her family within Southern Wayne County.
• Applicants eligible for Scholarship renewal will be contacted by the Foundation prior to the end of the academic year in which they received their current award.

HOW DO I APPLY?

• Go to http://cfsem.org/scholarships to draft and submit your application online.
• March 15th is the priority deadline for applying.