The Shadow
CLIFTON FORGE – The Dabney S. Lancaster Com-munity College Educational Foundation recently hosted a reception on the college’s Clifton Forge campus to recognize the Botetourt Kiwanis Club for its gift of $30,000 to endow the Botetourt Kiwanis Club Scholarship.
The scholarship will assist Botetourt County residents with tuition and book expenses at DSLCC. Preference will be given to newly-graduated seniors from James River or Lord Botetourt High Schools, but assistance may also be available for continuing or non-traditional students.
According to Botetourt Ki-wanis Club President Charles Geiger, the club has been setting aside a portion of funds raised each year for the last 15 years for the purpose of endowing scholarships at the two community colleges closest to Botetourt County.
“As part of an international service organization with emphasis on ‘Serving the Children of the World,’ the Botetourt Kiwanis Club has long desired to expand our scope of service beyond younger children and general scholarships for high school graduates to include scholarships for needful county residents attending local colleges,” ex-plained Geiger.
“We are proud to announce that we now are able to provide scholarship endowments to both Dabney S. Lancaster Community College and Virginia Western Community College for needful students who are residents of Botetourt County,” Geiger added.
In expressing his appreciation for the club’s donation, Educational Foundation Pre-sident Richard Crowder praised the Botetourt Kiwan-ians for their continued hard work in support of Botetourt County residents.
“The Botetourt Kiwanis Club has long held a passion for improving the lives of Botetourt County residents, particularly its young people,” said Crowder. “The club’s vision of promoting educational opportunities for our residents takes concrete form once again through this scholarship and its impact for Botetourt County students who seek to build a better future with a solid beginning in higher education at DSLCC.”
The Kiwanis Club of Botetourt County was formed in 1977. It is part of Kiwanis International, a world-wide service organization in 80 countries with over 325,000 members. For the past 35 years, members of the club have been tireless workers for community improvement.
During this time, the club has raised and distributed hundreds of thousands of dollars to aid deserving and needy Botetourt County young people, adults and families.
Each year, the club provides scholarship assistance to graduating seniors from county high schools and the technical school, financial support to county educational programs, educational materials for grade school students, support and encouragement for responsible citizenship development among middle and high school students through Key and Builder Club programs, gift food baskets for families at Thanksgiving and Christmas, furnishing wood for heating to needy families, support for child health improvement programs, support for the Ronald McDonald House, and more.
Most recently, the club has established $30,000 endowments at Virginia Western Community College in Roanoke and at Dabney Lancaster Community College. Earnings from these funds will help support needy students from Botetourt County attending these institutions.
To support all of these activities, the club conducts fund-raising projects such as an annual Botetourt Kiwanis Golf Tournament, pancake breakfasts, a yard sale, country-ham biscuit sales and the sale of poinsettias at Christmas.
Currently, the Botetourt County Kiwanis Club has 50 members and is always looking for others who wish to contribute to the community through the club’s activities.
The DSLCC Educational Foundation was incorporated in 1980 as a non-profit organization, and although it was established to assist and promote the college, it is organizationally and fiscally separate from the college.
It receives from individuals, organizations and businesses, tax deductible contributions, which are invested and the earnings used to fund student scholarships, faculty chairs, educational travel grants for current, full time faculty, and to purchase classroom and other technological equipment.
The DSLCC Educational Foundation is governed by a volunteer board of directors comprised of residents of the communities served by the college – Alleghany, Bath, northern Botetourt, and Rockbridge counties and the cities of Buena Vista, Covington and Lexington.
For information on establishing scholarships through the educational foundation or to make a tax-deductible contribution, please call DSLCC Foundation Director Lynda Thompson at 863-2837 or email lthompson@dslcc.edu.
