GRAFTON — The Women's Community Club of Grafton, celebrating its centennial this year, recently announced the seven winners of its annual scholarships to benefit Grafton students.
The scholarship awards are based on scholastic achievement, financial need, community involvement and extracurricular activities/work commitments at school. The WCC will award a total of $20,000.
The 2018 winners are Kassidy Wyman, radiology, freshman at Southern Vermont College (or Vermont Technical College); Duane Snide, mechanical engineering, sophomore at University of Vermont; Theo Pilette, criminal justice, freshman at Norwich University; William Culver, physics/computer science, senior at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute; Adam Culver, math/secondary education, freshman at University of Hartford (or Springfield College); Keltsey Rushton, animal science, junior at University of Vermont; and Kyle Record, safety and occupational health applied sciences, senior at Keene State College.
The scholarship winners will receive their awards at the scholarship luncheon on Saturday, June 23, at noon, at the home of Kate Lunde at 1246 Old Stage Road, Chester (the property is on the Grafton-Chester line). There will also be an opportunity to tour her farm.
Barbara Fisher Rogers received the first scholarship of $100 in 1966-67. In recent years, members have increased aid to as much as $5,000 per student to help with college expenses. Overall, the Club gives out $20,000 annually and has awarded 218 scholarships to 124 Grafton students totaling $250,000 in just over 50 years.
The scholarship program was launched with funds left to the Club in 1938 by Susan Daniels, the Club's first lifetime member. The gift was earmarked to promote higher education, maintain the Village Park, and tune the pianos in the Town Hall, Chapel, and Village School.
In an effort to increase funding to help defray the rising cost of college tuition, the Club will celebrate its Centennial Year with a benefit gala on Aug. 18, from 5 to 8 p.m., at The Barn (1700 Cabell Road). The Club has also launched a Centennial Sponsorship initiative, to which the Windham Foundation has contributed a leadership gift of $10,000.
The Gala will feature a half hour concert with musicians from Boston's Grammy-nominated orchestra, A Far Cry, along with an Arts and Crafts Auction to highlight the artists and arts tradition in Grafton.