Great Barrington — At a Crissey Farm luncheon last Wednesday (May 26) the Great Barrington Rotary Club gave out $45,000 in college scholarship money for over 40 students from Monument Mountain and Mount Everett Regional High Schools. Most of the money was raised through the Rotary’s annual Golf Tournament, and the remainder through the summer Bike & Fly, and Truck Day and Butternut Ski Resort.
Rotary President Susan Smith said the organization has given out $40,000 in scholarship money every year for about 15 years. “A huge amount of money,” she said, adding that Rotary has been fundraising for college scholarships since the 1970s.
Smith said the scholarships are need-based, and that students can reapply before each school year if needed.
Monument Mountain senior Jacob Robbins, 18, is heading to American University in Washington, D.C., after a gap year, hopefully he says, with the AmeriCorps program, which will take him to California to teach in an inner city school. He hasn’t been accepted yet he says, but is thrilled to be heading to American the following year, where he’ll major in political science with a minor in history and journalism.
Of his $1000 from Rotary, he said he was “very honored and very touched, because every little bit helps.” He said organizations like Rotary help young people “accomplish their dreams,” and that it is a “wonderful opportunity to empower young people and give them a chance.”
“It’s a pay-it-forward philosophy,” Smith said. “We want to help these kids along to fulfill their dreams, and we hope they’ll give back to their communities.”
