John Rich Curran Memorial Scholarship Fund
This scholarship fund was established in 2005 by the family and friends of John Rich Curran to recognize outstanding graduating seniors from Schuylkill County high schools. John was born in Pottsville in 1955. He was a graduate of Boston University and Antiioch School of Law in Washington, D.C. John planned to work as a public defender in Pennsylvania in an effort to help those who were less fortunate than he was. But this was not to be. Six weeks after his admission to the Pennsylvania Bar, he was in an automobile accident that took his life. According to his family, John valued life and all of its possibilities. Were he alive today, he would encourage young people to take risks in life and not always do the safe or easy thing, but to do what you think is right. He used his education to be a better person and make informed decisions. He would encourage the recipients of this scholarship to do all they can to make their corner of the world a better place.
The fund will provide multi-year scholarships to current seniors graduating from Schuylkill County high schools. Applicants must have a financial need and intend to be furthering their education after high school in a four-year program at a four-year college or university. Applicants must have a cumulative B average (3.0) or better in high school in order to apply. This scholarship will be available to the students at a select group of the 13 schools each year, on a rotating basis. The rotation of eligible schools will be as follows:
2023/2026/2029: Pine Grove Area, Schuylkill Haven, Tamaqua Area, Williams Valley, Marian
2024/2027/2030: Blue Mountain, Mahanoy Area, North Schuylkill, Nativity B.V.M.
2025/2028/2031: Minersville Area, Pottsville Area, Shenandoah Valley, Tri-Valley
This process will repeat in that order on an ongoing basis.
Robert Welliver Memorial Fund
Grants support camperships, repairs and maintenance at the Pennsylvania Beacon Lodge Camp for children and adults with special needs.
Penny Jar Fund
Grants from the Penny Jar Fund support the non-tuition-related needs of college students who have an unexpected financial crisis.
The Penny Jar Fund was created by Dorothy Lehman Hoerr in memory of her father, who always saved his pennies in glass jars. In Dorothy’s junior year of college, her father was out of work with a back injury. After tuition was paid, little money was left for books. The 12 jars of pennies he gave her paid for her books that semester. Today, the Penny Jar Fund honors Earl Lehman by providing emergency assistance to students in financial crisis.
The purpose of the fund is to provide non-tuition-related financial assistance to students enrolled in a college located in Berks County, Pennsylvania, who have encountered an unexpected financial crisis as a result of an unplanned turn of events. This is available to currently-enrolled undergraduate students. Students who have not yet graduated from high school are not eligible to apply. Graduate students are not eligible to apply.
Grants from the fund are primarily for living expenses, professional testing fees, books, childcare, transportation, uniforms, and other emergency needs. The fund will not support tuition expenses.
Berks County Association of School Retirees Scholarship and Mini-Grant Fund
This fund provides teacher mini-grants for classroom projects and an annual scholarship to a Berks County public high school senior who will major in education.
Ira M. Becker Fund for Men
This fund provides grants to educate young men (up to age 30) in Berks County, one at a time, and is not to be used to benefit an institution.
An individual may apply for a grant, or a caseworker or court official may also apply on behalf of an individual.
