Posted at: 07/24/2012 7:20 PM
By: Dan Conradt
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Email to a FriendRiverland Pushes for More Scholarships
(ABC 6 News) -- In this economy, a college education is more important than ever.
But that same economy is making it more difficult for many people to go to college.
And that's the challenge you'll find at the heart of a new campaign at Riverland Community College.
"It's really becoming more of a challenge for students to be able to afford getting an education" said Steve Bowron at the Riverland Foundation.
As the cost of higher education goes up, colleges and students are reaching out for help.
"We have 90 active sponsored scholarships right now" Bowron explained.
“Last year we gave over 300-thousand dollars out in school money to support the students on our 3 campuses, yet it still wasn't enough."
“We have about 150 people who apply and are not able to get a scholarship because there are not enough" said Bonnie Rietz, who is a member of two organizations that provide scholarships to Riverland.
To help fill in the gap, the Riverland Community College foundation has launched a program called "150 by 2015".
"To increase the number of sponsored scholarships from 90 to 150 by the year 2015" the Foundation’s Steve Bowron explained.
And for many prospective students, a scholarship might be the difference between going to college and not going."
“Many of them, i find, are working, have children and they just are barely making it" Bonnie Rietz told us.
There’s no such thing as a *one size fits all* formula for creating a scholarship.
"Scholarships are as much about the donor as they are about the students who are going to receive those funds" Steve Bowron said.
So every one of the 90 scholarships available now at Riverland ... whether they're sponsored by individuals, businesses or organization ... is different.
"Because donors have a different passion, have a different method of support and type of individual they want to help."
But they *do* share a common goal.
"What better way to help an individual than to be able to help them get an education" Bonnie Rietz said.
To learn how you can sponsor a scholarship, contact the Riverland Community College foundation.
