The non-profit organization, the Olivet Boys and Girls Club of Reading and Berks County, recently presented a $15,000 check to the Montgomery County Community College Foundation for student scholarships. The Foundation is adding an additional $5,000 to the scholarship program.
The combined scholarship funds of $20,000 will enable youth at the Olivet Boys & Girls Club’s Richard J. Ricketts Center in Pottstown to enroll and take classes at Montgomery County Community College. Currently, three students are receiving the scholarship funds and eight additional students have applied. The scholarships are used to cover the remaining costs of tuition and books not covered by federal Pell or other grants.
‘We have overlapping missions to bring deserving students through the higher education pipeline and have them graduate without debt,’ said College President Dr. Karen A. Stout at the check presentation.
‘We are excited for the future of these young people. Thank you for this partnership,’ said Dr. James Smith, Interim CEO for Olivet . ‘We will continue to find funding sources to provide scholarships to help level the playing field.’
The Olivet Boys & Girls Club has been serving the youth of Reading, Berks County and beyond since 1898 when it was started by William McCormick. Olivet is a chartered member of the Boys & Girls Clubs of America. It incorporates many of the national organization’s youth programs into the local branches, including at the Richard J. Ricketts Center, 640 Beech Street, Pottstown, which is under the direction of Janice Burgess, the club director.
The College has had a growing relationship with the Olivet Boys and Girls Club at the Ricketts Center. For the past three years, students and staff of the College have volunteered to help at the Center on Martin Luther King Day of Service. Additionally, students have volunteered on their own to help at the Center.