Housing Authority of Jefferson County establishes endowed scholarship

INA, Ill. (March 6, 2019) - One local agency is dedicating resources to help students in Jefferson County attend college. The Housing Authority of Jefferson County (HAJC) recently created a $10,000 endowment scholarship with the Rend Lake College Foundation. HAJC’s Family Activity Training Center provided the funds for the new perpetual scholarship that will begin awarding in the 2020-2021 academic year.

“This is a scholarship which will promote opportunities for education beyond high school. We believe that this will not only motivate, but help pave the way to self-sufficiency for low and extremely low income individuals,” said Tom Upchurch, HAJC Executive Director.

Pictured are members of the HAJC during the scholarship donation. They are, FROM LEFT, HAJC Chief Financial Officer Mark Laur, HAJC Commissioner Bobby Sheridan, HAJC Commissioner Clarence Mays, HAJC Commissioner Brett Hall, RLC Foundation CEO Kay Zibby-Damron; HAJC Executive Director Tom Upchurch, HAJC Leasing Agent Haley Mullinax, HAJC Commissioner Greg Sims, HAJC Leasing Agent Erika Kehrer, and HAJC Office Manager Teresa Fleri. Click on the image for a larger view.

Every year, the RLC Foundation scholarship selection committee will be chose a recipient who is a resident of HAJC or receives HAJC services. The recipient will must be enrolled full-time and maintain a 2.0 or higher grade point average at RLC.

Terry Wilkerson, RLC President, said, “We are extremely appreciative of the Housing Authority of Jefferson County’s partnership and their generous gift to establish this new scholarship. For many years to come, this scholarship will pave the way for students to gain the skills they need to become self-sufficient and achieve their goals. We commend HAJC for wanting to change so many lives by creating an opportunity for Jefferson County residents to receive an affordable and quality education.”

Anyone interested creating a new scholarship or learning more about this scholarship can do so by contacting the RLC Foundation at 618-437-5321, Ext. 1324.

{loadposition like-share}