RI Foundation announces local students can apply for $1.8 million in college scholarships

PROVIDENCE, RI – At the time of year when colleges are sending out financial aid packages, the Rhode Island Foundation is offering students and their families more than $1.8 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.”
The Foundation expects to help hundreds of students with financial aid. In addition to general scholarship assistance, some funds provide assistance based on area of study, family income or special circumstance. The Melvin and Patty Alperin First Generation Scholarship helps high school seniors whose parents did not graduate from college.
“A lot of things about college are challenging, including finding the resources to pay for books and fees. The scholarship I received helps take the pressure off and lets me concentrate on doing well in my classes,” said Jelit Martinez, a sophomore Wildlife and Conservation Biology major at the University of Rhode Island.
Margaret Hanley Van Orden Scholarships go to graduates of Hope High School and the Lawrence, while the Allen, Singletary Fund targets Hope High School or Central High School graduates.
Among the other funds providing help are the Sgt. Cornel Young, Jr. Scholarship, Urban League of RI Scholarship and RDW Group Minority Scholarship for Communications, which helps students of color.
The Foundation also offers a number of scholarships targeting students studying everything from social work or the arts to textile technology or filmmaking.
The Albert and Florence Newton, Edward and Virginia Routhier and Willard and Marjorie Scheibe
Scholarships are for nursing majors.
A complete list of scholarships, application deadlines and eligibility requirements is posted on the Foundation’s website at www.rifoundation.org.
The Rhode Island Foundation is the largest and most comprehensive funder of nonprofit organizations in Rhode Island. In 2016, the Foundation awarded a record $45 million in grants to organizations addressing the state’s most pressing issues and needs of diverse communities. Through leadership, fundraising and grantmaking activities, often in partnership with individuals and organizations, the
Foundation is helping Rhode Island reach its true potential. For more information, visit
www.ri.foundation.org.