About the Education Foundation
By Larry Jenkins, SWP Education Foundation Director
This year the Short Wing Piper Club is sponsoring five outstanding, high academic achieving, students through the Short Wing Piper Education Foundation. I would love for you to feel their passion and desire to become successful in the world of aviation. I enjoy seeing their excitement, and it makes me want to go back into the academic world myself. They are really putting forth their best effort, and I know their gratitude.
Our membership should be aware of a new scholarship awarding procedure that was approved at the last SWPC Convention in Ogden, Utah. All first time scholarship applicants are now required to submit to the Education Foundation Director their official college transcripts from their first semester’s work before the scholarship money is sent to their respective institutions. This requirement was copied from other scholarship granting organizations. The objective is to protect the granting institution from students who change their minds about their academic goals in their first semester thus protecting the awarding institution’s investment. Our applicants have all proved to be serious students and their checks were mailed to their respective institution in January 2013.
For the 2013/2014 school year we will be accepting your sponsored scholarship applicants in May. Upon your request, I will email you the scholarship application. All applicants must complete and have hard copy applications mailed to me no later than 31 May. It will be a little more competitive this year, as we expect four of our current students to apply for scholarship renewal. Email is my preferred way of communicating, with the exception of the application forms. Your questions and comments help me to do my job better.
The awarding of scholarships at our next convention has a lot of contingencies. If we have a larger than normal application pool, the Board will have to decide how much our resources will support. My desire, assuming all of our current scholarship recipients reapply, is to support those students at the same monetary level as we did in the 2012/2013 school year. Scholarship winning new applicants may be offered a different amount, which is contingent upon your donations. At this writing, donations are below normal. We have had some meaningful donations, but across the board, the Club has not supported the Education Foundation as in previous years. Our nation’s economy has changed, but our students are faced with the same monetary challenge, and college is expensive.
I felt the challenge I proposed at the Ogden Convention was a very fair way for our members to support the Education Foundation. I asked each member to donate $10 to the Education Foundation. The math for that amount donated would exceed the amount of scholarship money we awarded last year. To date I feel let down that my proposal has not been supported. Even in this tight economy we can all afford $10! I also challenged our chapters to donate $100 each and some chapters have given as much as $200 to the Education Foundation! And some even better news, I received a $500 donation just before Christmas for which I am very grateful! All donations are so deeply appreciated! I fall short of writing everyone thank you notes, but I trust you gave the money for a greater reason.
There are numerous ways to discreetly donate money to the Education Foundation. We have tried to make it easy to make your donations through our web site. Another option is to mail your check to the SWPC treasurer, and she will deposit it in the Education Foundation account. I will do the same, if you elect to mail me a check. Make checks payable to the SWP Education Foundation. Our mailing addresses are in the SWPC News.
On a personal note, I get weary appealing to everyone to donate to the SWP Education Foundation. I can say it is not a thankless job! Our students are very grateful for our help and support. I will try and remain optimistic in challenging us to make our passion happen.
Should you have any questions about the SWP Education Foundation, I check my email daily. I will email you scholarship application upon your request. I will do my best to respond to you in a timely fashion.
********************************************************************************************************
Click HERE for information on applying for the SWP Education Foundation Scholarship
********************************************************************************************************
To make a donation to the SWP Education Foundation right now, click HERE and you will be directed to our Store.
For more information on how you can Make a Difference, click HERE
Remember – purchases you make in the SWPC Store benefit the Education Foundation. Need a SPWC Logo hat for yourself or a gift? How about a Sky Catch or a Tips & Techniques manual or CD? You can purchase these items and more at the SWPC Store and benefit the Education Foundation in the process!