A 74-year-old scholarship program in Boyertown is going strong and paying out to students who live in the borough.
The Leidy-Rhoads Fund, established in 1941, has duel purposes. Part of the fund goes to supplying school children with items they might not be able to afford.
“The intent of the fund is to provide assistance to students to enable them to remain in school,” said Arlene McCaffrey, who helps run the fund. “Some examples are, if they wouldn’t have money for a test that there’s a fee involved, through the school counseling office and principal, they make that decision.”
That money has quietly helped students go on field trips or buy gym shoes – students who might not be able to afford it otherwise. Who those students are, though, is kept anonymous. Even McCaffrey doesn’t know. The fund distributes a set amount of money annually to every school in the district to be disbursed at the discretion of the counselor and principal.
Every student who lives in Boyertown has a chance at a lucrative scholarship award through the fund.
Last year, the fund gave out $60,000 to students. And the five-page application is worth the time.
“We try to help everybody, and very often everybody gets something,” McCaffrey said.
Last year’s scholarship received 19 applications. While the amount granted varies from student to student, there is still a fair amount of funds to be spread out across all applicants. The award is renewable for up to four years.
The Leidy-Rhoads scholarship is only available to students who live within Borough borders.
“The problem with the restrictions for the scholarship, Boyertown School District was much smaller when this was established, and that is why the restriction is there,” McCaffery said.
This is because the fund was set up as part of a will, with detailed instructions. However, students in other parts of the district are not left out in the cold. Outside of the borough, students can apply for the Frank and Amanda Hartman Fund scholarship. Last year, that fund had about $30,000 to distribute to students.
Both applications are available on the Boyertown Area Senior High School website. They can be found under the resources tab in the school counseling section. From there, the scholarships are listed through a tab on the left hand side under scholarship information.
Applications for both scholarships are due May 15.
