FUTURE LEADER SCHOLARSHIP FUND

The Future Leader Scholarship Initiative began in 1998. Glory Communications management and staff wanted to create a community initiative to assist high school seniors who had proven themselves academically, been accepted to a college or university but whose families could use some financial assistance to help make the transition smoother. From the beginning, the Columbia Urban League recognized the need, saw the vision and agreed to partner with Glory Communications to make the Future Leader Scholarship program a success.

The vision was to:                                                                                               

·        Provide scholarships dollars to students needing financial aid

·        Create awareness on the necessity of community support for higher education

·        Celebrate the accomplishments of the students receiving scholarships

We solicited the assistance of High School Guidance Counselors, corporate sponsors and the business community. We developed scholarship criteria, designed a marketing campaign and decided on awarding the scholarships at Glory Communications’ annual ‘FamilyFest Celebration’ – where upwards of 20,000 people get to witness the scholarship presentations each year.

Scholarship coordinators established a $1,500 scholarship amount. The goal is to increase the number of scholarships each year as contributions increase - impacting the lives of as many young people as possible!

In 13 years, the campaign provided college scholarships to 84 deserving young people. The recipients each year are chosen from applications representing more than 30 different High Schools and communities surrounding Columbia, Sumter, Orangeburg, Lake City/Florence and Moncks Corner/Georgetown.

We encourage you to join this empowering community initiative by making a contribution today. You can make the difference in the life of a deserving student and help insure that there are future leaders to help strengthen our communities.