Orland Park Rotary Clubs Funds 14 Scholarships Through Annual Raffle

ORLAND PARK, IL —The Orland Park Rotary Club is assisting 14 high school seniors fulfill their dreams of going to college through the organization's annual scholarship program.

According to officials, interested students had to write an essay talking about their volunteering experience in the south suburbs.

"Going to college now is very expensive," said Orland Rotary President Keloryn Putnam in a press release. "Our members want to do whatever we can to help ease this burden."

All scholarships are partially funded by the Rotary Club's annual Scholarship Raffle event. This year, the 50th anniversary of the initiative, the event will take place on May 19.

Officials said 500 tickets are sold for the raffle at $100 each with the top prize being $15,000 cash. The next five winners will receive $1,000 each with the remaining $30,000 funds going to scholarship programs.

A spokeswoman for the group said students also had to submit two references in order to apply. Scholarship recipients will be announced later this month.