The Founders Fund, Inc. Awards $208,000 in College Scholarships to 26 Collier County Students

May 12, 2010 - PRLog -- The Founders Fund, Inc. announced the new class of 26 exceptional students who will be receiving scholarships to attend college for the upcoming 2010-2011 school year.

The Founders Fund, Inc., a non-profit, tax-exempt charitable organization, awarded scholarships this year at the Annual Scholarship Awards Reception held at The Club Pelican Bay on May 4, 2010. The 2010 class recipients will be attending colleges and universities all across the United States. Each year, 25 students, on average, are chosen to receive scholarships of $2,000 per year during their four years of college. Each year the total number of students receiving scholarships can change depending on student grades. Scholarships paid in 2009 were 87 totaling $174,000.  

The reception opened with a greeting by outgoing Founders Fund Chairperson Ray Crisci, followed by remarks from Rocky Caldwell, First Chairperson of the Founders Fund in 1991. Dr. Michael Rollo, Vice President of Student Affairs at Florida Gulf Coast University, spoke about higher learning as the “dream machine” and the critical importance of education in shaping our society. The awards presentation was conducted by the incoming 2010/2011 Chairperson, Sue McNaghten. Two students, Carl Fertil and Claudia Navarro, completed the ceremony by sharing stories about their backgrounds and their dreams for the future. Both are the first in their families to attend college and they expressed their gratitude to the Founders Fund for giving them the chance to pursue their goals.

Present at this celebratory reception were students, families, friends, board members, committee chairs, benefactors, supporters, and high school guidance counselors, with over 90 people in attendance.

The Founders Fund, Inc., a non-profit, tax-exempt charitable organization, was created in 1991 by the Founding Golf Members of The CLUB at Pelican Bay. The mission is to provide financial assistance to young men and women from Collier County in their pursuit of higher education.

The Founders Fund is supported by Golf and Social Members of The Club Pelican Bay, as well as many corporate sponsors which include prominent local and national businesses that are very generous in their support of the Founders Fund. The 2010 Biennial Ed Brennan Memorial Golf Tournament took place April 12, raising over $250,000.

For more information about scholarships or sponsors, contact Sue Davenport at 239-593-0124 or 597-2244 or visit www.thefoundersfundinc.org.

2010/2011 Scholarship Recipients:
Barron Collier: Catherine Caylore, Carter Mack, Gabriela Ramos
Everglades: Leah Minton
Golden Gate: Maria Briceno, Diana Castillo, Carl Fertil, Huy Nguyen
Gulf Coast: Alejandro Ramirez, Yaissy Solis
Immokalee: Georgemanie Adolphe, Anita Baltazar, Claudia Navarro, Melisssa Rodriguez
Lely: Lisa Frimberger, Andrew Lem, Cody Mendel
Lorenzo Walker: Lezly Camacho
Naples: Iysha Aldikacti, Giovanni Forcina
Palmetto Ridge: Deilys Navarro, Keyler Casin-Vidal, Corina Rionda
St. John Neumann: Natasha Lai
The Club Pelican Bay: Megg Murphy

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The mission of the Founders Fund is to provide financial assistance to young men and women from Collier County in their pursuit of post high school education and training.

For more information about scholarships or sponsorships, call 239-593-0124.