The Community Foundation of Western North Carolina (CFWNC) approved scholarships totaling $516,250 to 90 WNC students in 57 schools in 21 counties. More than 60 volunteers from the community worked to review applications and select recipients.
Top recipient Peighton Robison from Mitchell High School was awarded the Charles C. and Suzanne R. McKinney Scholarship valued at $20,000 over four years and a one-time Newton Academy-Forster/Stevens Scholarship Fund Scholarship valued at $1,000. Olivia Biddix of Mitchell High was also awarded. Scholarship endowments can have broad eligibility criteria or can be focused on a particular school or county, offered to students pursuing a degree in a stated field or available to those who will attend a designated college or university.
“It’s an absolute highlight of my year to be able to interview these gifted, amazing students, and to know the scholarships through CFWNC are helping them meet challenges ahead and attain successful futures,” said Diane Hagenbuch, scholarship committee member. “The members of our committee work well together to select the student we feel best represents the qualifications outlined, which is not easy given the considerable talent of the students. At the end of the process, we all feel confident that these students are going to be exceptional leaders in the future.”
CFWNC works with families, businesses and nonprofits to strengthen communities through the creation of charitable funds and strategic grantmaking. A permanent charitable resource, the Foundation manages over 1,200 funds and facilitated $23.5 million in grants last year bringing total giving to more than $328 million since its founding in 1978. Learn more at www.cfwnc.org.
