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Date:
August 2002 -
(Download PDF Version)
Topic:
Scholarships for Volunteers
Question:
This year I have three $500 scholarships - one for each of the
high schools that I work with and I am in the process of trying
to set up the guidelines. I was wondering if any youth courts
give scholarships to their teen volunteers at graduation? If so,
what type of guidelines are you using for eligibility for the
scholarship? Who determines who should get the scholarship? If
anyone has any information pertaining to scholarships it would
be very helpful.
Responses
from
Coordinators:
Anne Dubinsky
Teen Court Coordinator
City of Lewisville Teen Court
P.O. Box 299002
Lewisville, TX 75029
Phone: (972) 219-3671
Fax: (972) 219-3414
adubinsk@cityoflewisville.com
We offer
a scholarship with funds voluntarily donated by
Municipal Court jurors. The last 2 years, we
have given 2 $500.00 scholarships. This year I
think we will change that to one $1,000.00
scholarship. Our requirements to receive the
scholarship are: Must be a participating and
dependable Teen Court volunteer and at least
part of the participation must be during the
senior year. Must be planning to attend an
accredited college or university. The recipients
are chosen by committee. We are a small court
and have not yet had enough applicants to hold a
committee meeting. The scholarships are awarded
each May during a city council meeting with the
Mayor presenting the award. It is very good
public relations for our court.
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Brenda Myers
Youth Court Coordinator
Project Chance Youth Court - W.A. Perry Middle School
South Carolina Department of Education
1429 Senate Street Room 706-D
Columbia, SC 29201
Phone: (803) 734-0737
Fax: (803) 734-0806
bmyers@sde.state.sc.us
I have
not had the honor to do scholarships, but Tusha
Lafayette, coordinator for the North Charleston
Youth Court has. You can email her at youthcourt@charleston.net.
She is a wonderful source of information and I
am positive that she will be able to help you.
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David Garcia
Coordinator
Teen Court of Lea County, Inc.
1923 N. Dal Paso Suite C
P.O. Box 831
Hobbs, NM 88240
Phone: (505) 393-7743
Fax: (505) 393-1076
david.r.garcia@worldnet.att.net
My Teen
Court also gives scholarships of $500.00 after
graduation of their senior year. My Board of
Directors approves all scholarships upon my
request and the request of the youth attorneys.
The guidelines are simple, be involved with Teen
Court for at least two full years as a
volunteer, a copy of their transcript, and a
two-page essay of what Teen Court did for them.
Pretty simple, but these kids are what make our
programs successful and without them where would
Teen Court and Youth Court be?
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Kathleen Self
Executive Director
P.O. Box 48927
Sarasota, FL 34230
Phone: (941) 951-4278
Fax: (941) 951-4277
fatc@gte.net
In Sarasota County we, as a
non-profit agency, are able to fund raise. We have one main
event, a golf tournament, which kicks off Law Week in our
community. Our local bar association and sheriff's office
help us a great deal and we have one corporate sponsor who
has contributed $3500 which covers are primary expenses.
All of the proceeds are
distributed to students who demonstrate exemplary
participation as Teen Court volunteers. We have, in the past
six years, given more than $45,000. This year, for the first
time, we also provided monetary awards to underclassmen as
well as a Memorial Scholarship in the name of an adult
volunteer.
Our criteria include:
-
Demonstrating a sincere concern for the clients that are
referred to Teen Court
-
Understanding the true philosophy of community service
and their commitment to the program
-
Responsible and respectful attention to their
participation including advising our office of their
-
Attendance in a timely manner, attending all trainings,
arriving on time, etc.
-
Respectful demeanor toward all participants, young and
old alike
-
Amount of time contributed
-
Must prove enrollment at a continuing education
institution (not limited to a four year college).
The selection process
consists of recommendations of the office staff, adult
volunteers, and is approved by our board members. The
scholarships are awarded at the end of summer at which time
we have the students receiving the scholarships do the cases
for the evening and then we have a very nice dinner for them
and their parents. I figured out a long time ago that it
keeps my dedicated seniors involved until they go away to
school or to pursue other interests!!
We do
provide each honoree with the necessary federal
code information regarding scholarships/awards.
Initially we made the check payable to the
school they were going to attend but realized,
in some instances, the school was subtracting
the award from their total grant/scholarship
package. We now make it payable to the student
who must provide proof of acceptance to a
continuing education institution. If the honoree
has no specific plans we hold the award until
they are enrolled, even if it is a year or two
later! We have had winners go to
vocational/technical schools.
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Kory Norris
Coordinator
Olathe Youth Court
c/o Olathe Dist. Schools, USD #233
1021 South Pitt
P.O. Box 2000
Olathe, KS 66063-2000
Phone: (913) 780-7046
Fax: (913) 780-7045
norrisk@mail.olathe.k12.ks.us
We give "senior service
awards" in Olathe Youth Court. We focus on service rather
than scholars. With service awards, a student may receive $$
for passion, dedication and commitment rather than
intellect.
The
guidelines for receipt focus on service and
reliability and dependability and character.
Students receiving $$ must be seniors, served as
officer for at least one complete year, must be
an officer (i.e., more than juror) and must have
gone "above and beyond" (tons of ways to do
this--in courtroom, behind scenes, assisting
peers, etc.). The decision as to who receives
service awards lies with fellow youth court
officers as well as youth court staff, SRO's and
regular adult volunteers. (Students who are
eligible complete a "Consideration Form"--s/he
would like to be considered; and all officers
complete a "Nomination Form".)
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Thomas Hanover
West Seneca Youth Court
1250 Union Road
West Seneca, NY 14224-2950
Phone: (716) 674-2284
Fax: (716) 674-1063
hanover@wspolice.com
Our Youth Court Program also
awards scholarships to our graduating seniors from High
School. We have an application that they fill out and we use
this to determine who will receive what scholarships. We
have tied in with the local American Legion Posts and each
of them award a scholarship to one graduating senior. We are
also looking into expanding the list of scholarships by
soliciting some other civic organizations to possibly
sponsor a scholarship.
The
scholarship committee is made up of adult
members of our executive board and they decide
who gets the scholarships given out by the
court. The funds for these scholarships are
derived from fund raising activities that the
members participate in throughout the year. The
civic group awards are picked by the individual
unit giving the award and all we do is supply
the potential members with a copy of the
application. The funding for these scholarships
comes from the unit that is giving the award.
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Marlene Todd
Lawrence County Teen Court
Director
P.O. Box 227
Deadwood, SD 57732
Phone: (605) 722-8889
Fax: (605) 722-8888
teencrt@mato.com
We have
provided scholarships to our seniors for several
years now. Each applicant must fill out a simple
scholarship application AND must be an active
volunteer with Teen Court. We have a scholarship
committee comprised of 4 members of our adult
Board of Directors, as we wanted to provide
complete impartiality. We announce the
recipients of our scholarships at our annual
banquet in April and they are presented at the
school graduation.
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Myra Weeks
Coordinator
Wichita County Teen Court
Wichita County Courthouse
900 7th Street, Room 212
Wichita Falls, TX 76301-2482
Phone: (940) 715-8575
Fax: (940) 766-8177
Myra.Weeks@co.wichita.tx.us
Wichita
County is fortunate to be connected to the Boys
& Girls Clubs. Through their Presidential
Scholarship Awards we receive several $1,000
awards. To determine who is eligible I have them
submit an application, letters of reference and
an essay on their experience in Teen Court. From
there, I remove any identifying factors and have
my board pick the top applicants based on the
information with all identifying factors
removed. Each year is a new year so I don't
"penalize" first year applicants. Also, I look
at the amount of time they were available vs..
amount of time participated. In other words, my
youth in extracurricular activities are still
eligible.
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Olivia Harrington
Teen Court Coordinator
Duncanville Teen Court
P.O. Box 380280
Duncanville, TX 75138-0280
Phone: (972) 780-5063
Fax: (972) 780-6463
Oharrington@ci.duncanville.tx.us
Barbara Tow and her husband
(then Mayor of Duncanville) persisted to get our Teen Court
started. Her family funds this scholarship in her memory.
Information follows.
BARBARA TOW TEEN COURT
SCHOLARSHIP AWARD
The Barbara Tow Teen Court Scholarship Award, a $1000
Savings Bond, will be awarded annually to a graduating high
school senior of outstanding character who, through the
strong and consistent demonstration of persistence, has made
an ever increasing contribution to the mission
accomplishment of the Duncanville Teen Court. The applicant
must have been active as a Teen Court volunteer for a
minimum of two Teen Court Sessions.
The award will be based upon
the following criteria:
- A
completed application form, having as enclosures:
-
High School Transcript showing GPA of 2.5 or greater.
-
Three letters of recommendation, one of which is from a
teacher.
- An
essay of 250-400 words, which describes the benefits,
derived from the Teen Court experience and how that
experience will contribute to the attainment of the
applicant’s personal goals. Specifically, the applicant
will highlight the role which persistence has had in the
applicant’s personal growth, individual accomplishments,
and contributions to the Teen Court mission during the
period of service with the court.
The
award winner will be announced at the annual
Teen Court Dinner, with additional recognition
to be given the winner at the appropriate Honors
Ceremony at the applicant’s high school.
The Teen Court Coordinator, Olivia Harrington,
972-780-5063 must receive the completed
application, not later than the first weekday of
April in order for it to be considered. A
committee of the Teen Court Coordinator and two
or more leaders from the community, in
conjunction with a member of the donor family,
will determine the award recipient.
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Shirley Zahn
Program Coordinator
Winnebago County Teen Court
504 Algoma Boulevard
Oshkosh, WI 54901
Phone: (920) 236-1120
Fax: (920) 303-3030
szahn@co.winnebago.wi.us
We don't
have the funds to offer scholarships at this
time, but I would like to work towards that. I
was part of a scholarship committee for the
Optimist Club (a civic organization that raises
funds to benefit youth). We had the youth that
were interested in scholarships fill out an
application. We then had each of the candidates
join us for one of our luncheon meetings, which
acted as an interview. Lastly, a committee
reviewed the applications and made a decision.
We based our decision mainly on financial need,
since many qualified applicants are eligible for
a number of scholarships.
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Susan Goettsch
Director
Granite Falls Teen Court
Granite Falls Boys & Girls Club
P. O. Box 781
Monroe, WA 98272
Phone: (360) 794-4775
Fax: (360) 794-0381
susangoettsch@hotmail.com
The Boys & Girls Club of
America offer all the Club's across the nation the
opportunity to extend scholarships to two members per year.
These scholarships come from the Presidential Scholarships
Awards. They are in the amount of $1,000. I have awarded two
of the scholarships to my youth court student in the past
three years. I judge them on their leadership abilities, how
much time they have volunteered to the program, their
efforts to demonstrate a willingness to learn about the
program and make improvements and how well they represent
our program. I also look at their academic and community
efforts.
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