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M I S S I O N S T A T E M E N T
The purpose of education is to convey from one generation to the next the accumulated wisdom, knowledge and experience that society and the cultures that we live in have deemed to be valued. Through education we prepare our children for their futures participation in the maintenance and continued development of society. Without education society becomes stagnant, unproductive and without change or improvement.
We sense the need to reach out in our local community and society in general to aid in the educational needs of our children, sisters, brothers, mothers and fathers. So many times, we have said "what must be done about our future", but the future is in our hands. We are willing to help motivate and build self esteem, to encourage followers to become our own leaders and raise the level of excellence and expectations throughout our community. We believe that by investing in individuals that make up our culturally diverse society, we are making sound investments not only in individuals but our own futures as well.
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Origin
Shirley Sanders, the founder of the Scholarship Foundation at Higher Ground Interdenominational Church, has come to recognize the importance of education. As a ten year veteran of the manual labor workforce, Shirley embarked on changing her career goals and went to college to gain an educational background in accounting. Throughout the process of changing her career and meeting other people with similar experiences, she came to realize that the community as a whole needs to participate in an effort of every man, woman and child that seeks to better themselves and their position in society. She was influenced by past and present religious leaders that provided support that empowered her to continue on in her personal career development. With the support of her pastor, Bishop Roosevelt Butler, Jr., she founded the Higher Ground Scholarship Foundation.
Participants
The Higher Ground Scholarship Foundation assumes and expects that all members of the community are participants in the scholarship foundation. We expect participants should be in two forms -- supporters and benefactors. At any time all people can be either a support or a benefactor and at some time supporting services offered by the foundation through the giving of time, money and services. If we can help people improve their lives and their lifestyles then they can later be in a position to help someone else do the same. The Scholarship Foundation currently consists of 11 administrators who are also members of the church. However, we expect that the Scholarship Foundation really comprises a makeup of the community itself.
Services
Throughout the life of the Higher Ground Scholarship Foundation, the committee has provided various services and programs for anyone wanting to participate. We sponsor "Career Day" sessions addressing a host of career options available to students as well as adults wanting to change careers. We sponsor a letter writing campaign for filing for scholarship programs offered by other entities for the benefit of would-be college students. We participate in college tours sponsored by various educational groups for the benefit of graduation high school seniors. We offer and pay book awards and tuition scholarships to members of the church and/or community based on financial need and scholastic aptitude. We have embarked on joint efforts with vocational and technical schools to provide full tuition scholarships for graduating high school students. There is a strong need and desire to provide even more services to empower the people of the church and the community to continue to strive for excellence.
Application Information
Our Scholarship Applications have been placed online for ease of access.
These applications are in Adobe PDF format and you must have Adobe Acrobat Reader in order to view them. If you don't already have Adobe Acrobat Reader, click the icon above to get it. Once finished downloading the plug-in you should be able to download, read and print the specific application that you need.
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