East Bay Students Invited to Apply for $1.5 Million in College Scholarships

At the time of year when colleges are sending out financial aid packages, the Rhode Island Foundation has announced it is now accepting applications for more than $1.5 million in scholarships.

Dozens of individual, family and organizational donors established scholarship funds at the Foundation to help students defray educational expenses such as tuition, room and board, fees and books.

“Each one of these scholarships turns dreams into reality for our donors and our recipients,” said Neil Steinberg, the Foundation’s president and CEO. “The impact of their generosity will ripple through community for generations.”

In addition to general scholarship assistance, some funds target students from specific geographic areas such as Barrington, Bristol, East Providence, Little Compton, Portsmouth, Tiverton and Warren.

The Jacqueline Gage Sarles Memorial Scholarship is open to graduates of Barrington High School, while the Ladies Auxiliary Bristol Volunteer Fire Department Scholarship and the Bristol Children's Home Scholarship are among the awards available to Bristol residents. The Maria E. Pinheiro Memorial Scholarship, Amaral Family Scholarship Fund and Harriet M. Briggs Memorial Scholarship are among the awards available to East Providence High School graduates.

Grace D. and Lloyd A. Case Fund goes to Little Compton residents who graduate from Portsmouth High School. Tiverton High School graduates can apply for the Nora Wood Moore Memorial Scholarship, the Stone Bridge Volunteer Fire Department Scholarship and Margaret Chace Scholarship for studying applied music, while the George P. and Anna M. Flynn Scholarship is a merit-based scholarship for parishioners of St. Mary of the Bay Church in Warren.

The Foundation also offers a number of awards targeting students studying everything from social work or the arts to textile technology or economics. The Albert and Florence Newton, Edward and Virginia Routhier, Willard and Marjorie Scheibe and Alan Edgar Wurdeman scholarships are for students studying nursing.

“Receiving a scholarship motivates me to not only complete my degree, but to further my education. I look forward to be able to give back to my community once I begin my career in nursing,” said Meghan Rainville, a University of Rhode Island student who received a Routhier award.

Other funds provide assistance based on gender, economic status or special circumstance.

The Melvin and Patty Alperin First Generation Scholarship is earmarked for high school seniors whose parents did not graduate from college, while the Bruce and Marjorie Sundlun Scholarship and Frances Macartney Porter Fund are open to low-income single parents.

A complete list of scholarships, application deadlines and eligibility requirements is posted on the Foundation’s website at www.rifoundation.org.