Generosity has a ripple effect. For students growing up in the rolling hills and close-knit farming communities of Ralston and Rimrock, this has never been clearer. In 2002, Gerald Ray established the David L. and Francis G. Ray Scholarship Fund to honor the memory of his parents and benefit students from his hometown communities.
Tom and Gail Stevenson’s story is one of love for each other, their family and the Spokane community.
This year Nara Shin was awarded the Diversity in Advertising Scholarship from Innovia Foundation, a $5,000 award given to a college student of color studying advertising, marketing, design or computer science.
Innovia Foundation recently awarded $321,726 in scholarships to students throughout Eastern Washington and North Idaho for the 2022-2023 school year. Innovia manages over 30 scholarship programs on behalf of donors who have established funds to help students achieve their higher education goals.
With the stresses that often come from social media and the myriad of other obstacles encountered on the path to high school graduation, the journey becomes even more daunting for a teenage parent. It’s a large part of what motivated Lumen High School Executive Director Shauna Edwards to establish the school for teen parents.
Over half of rural high school graduates in Washington State do not pursue any type of postsecondary education in the year following graduation, greatly reducing future career opportunities. In an effort to change the trajectory and create better outcomes for those graduates, Innovia launched a two-year initiative to strengthen school-community connections in five rural school districts: Dayton, St. John Endicott, Lind-Ritzville, Riverside and Inchelium.
Pamela Javier never hesitates to put the needs of others before herself. Whether she is caring for her infant daughter or volunteering at a local charity, her compassionate heart and determined spirit are hard at work. As a young mother and first-generation Asian American college student, Pamela dreams of becoming a registered nurse.
The relief of not having to worry about what essentials I have to cut out or skimp on to pay childcare was huge for my family,” says one grateful parent who received an emergency childcare scholarship through a program of United Way of North Idaho.
Honoring family through the gift of education Education was a passion Helen E. Schaefer never hesitated to share. For 40 years, Helen poured her love of learning and music into lessons for children at Madison and Hutton grade schools in Spokane. As a first-generation college student, Helen knew the power of educational success firsthand and …
This story first appeared in The Spokesman-Review as a Guest Editorial on January 31, 2021. Imagine with me for a moment what it would look like if our entire community came together around the goal that all students, regardless of their economic circumstances or social standing, had the opportunity and support to graduate from high …
