HCEF Recipient Blog

RENEWAL APPLICATIONS SENT

2011-12-15T11:43:00.000-08:00

Renewal Applications were Sent 12/12/2011

For those of you who have renewable scholarships with the Holmes County Education Foundation, renewal applications were sent to your home (not school) address via postal mail this week. The deadline is APRIL 2, 2012. Contact us ASAP if you did not receive the renewal application and think you are eligible to renew.

2011-11-09T12:34:00.000-08:00

Renewal Application Information

We hope everyone is enjoying their first semester or quarter of the school year! For those who have scholarships with the Foundation that are considered renewable, renewal applications will be sent to your home (not school) address in mid-December 2011 and will be due April 2, 2012 at 5:00 p.m. (Late or incomplete applications will not be considered.) We require the following to ALL be submitted at that time:

The renewal application itself. (We will mail this to you. If you do not receive it by the end of December, please contact the Foundation at (330) 674-7303 and request a new one. If your home mailing address has changed since last year, please help us update our files by giving us a call or e-mailing us at info@hcef.net.
Your most recent grades transcript. This will need to be from your fall or winter (2011) semester/quarter. It takes a while for many colleges to send official transcripts, so be sure to put in a request for your transcript as soon as possible. Many schools allow you to have the transcript sent directly to the Foundation (114 North Clay Street; Millersburg OH 44654), but it is your responsibility to ensure it arrives by the deadline date and time. If you cannot obtain an official transcript by the deadline and are able to retrieve your grades online, you may print them off and submit a copy from the internet as long as the school includes your name and cumulative grade point average on the transcript that you print. Your grades transcript needs to reflect at least a 2.0 cumulative GPA in order to be considered to be renewed.
A letter verifying at least four (4) hours of community service. In your signed agreement with the Foundation, you agreed to commit to at least 4 hours of community service. These hours do not have to be conducted in Holmes County, but we prefer that they are since most of the donations the Foundation receives in order to fund our scholarships come from Holmes County individuals and entities. We understand exceptions including out-of-state schools, where it is difficult to make the journey home. This letter needs to be on the letterhead of the organization or group in which you've helped, state your name, how many hours you worked, and what you did during your hours of service. Please call the Foundation prior to conducting your service hours if the organization you've helped does NOT have letterhead, or if you are not sure whether or not the type of work is acceptable to the Foundation. (For ideas of what we accept, see the middle of the following page: http://www.hcef.net/scholarship/faq.html).

Any questions? Contact the Foundation at (330) 674-7303, info@hcef.net. Don't forget to "like" our Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/hc.educationfoundation.

Congratulations to 2011-2012 New & Renewing Recipients

2011-06-02T06:18:00.000-07:00

The application review process for 2011 is complete, and we are happy to announce first-year recipients of Holmes County Education Foundation scholarships, in addition to scholarships from outside sources that were selected by the Foundation's selection committee. Check out the list of recipients for 2011-2012 academic year here!

New & Renewing recipients-- what's next?

New Recipients
You should have received an award letter via e-mail in May at the e-mail address you provided on your scholarship application. If you did not receive this e-mail, please contact the Foundation immediately. The award letter contains an attachment letter from the Foundation, stating what scholarship(s) you received, the amount of the scholarship(s), and whether or not the scholarship(s) is/are renewable. Also within the same attachment is a College Information Sheet and Media Release Form, both of which need to be completed, signed and returned to the Education Foundation by July 1, 2011. Below both of these forms, some students received suggestions for thank you correspondence to families associated with their scholarship(s). We highly recommend that you send a thank you to those helping make your scholarship(s) possible. Please print and/or keep the award letter from this attachment for your files. It contains important information that you will need to know regarding your scholarship.

Also, consider attending one of the Financial Literacy Sessions, held at the Foundation Office (114 North Clay Street; Millersburg). You can call Ann Gastier, Holmes County College Access Advisor, at (330) 674-1255 to reserve a spot at one of the following sessions:

Tuesday, June 7, 2011 at 1:00 p.m.
Tuesday, June 7, 2011 at 5:00 p.m.

Don't forget to check out the HCEF Recipients Blog at least once a month, as you agreed to do so in the College Information Sheet you sign and submit to us. You can also “like” us on Facebook and stay informed of additional scholarships and opportunities.

Renewing Recipients
The Foundation sent an e-mail in early June letting you know whether or not your scholarship renewed for the 2011-2012 academic year. If you were eligible to renew and submitted your renewal application by the April 1 deadline, but did not receive an e-mail from the Foundation, please call us at (330) 674-7303.

In the e-mail sent to those whose renewal applications were complete and included all requirements (at least a 2.0 cumulative GPA and at least 4 hours of community service) by the deadline, checks will be sent in mid-July, 2011 to the college or university you included on your renewal application. You will receive a letter in the mail from the Holmes County Education Foundation verifying that the check has been mailed to the college.

Please contact the Foundation with any questions or with any changes in your school status or contact information. Don't forget to check out the HCEF Recipients Blog at least once a month. You can also “like” us on Facebook and stay informed of additional scholarships and opportunities.

Renewing Students: The Status of Your Scholarship Award

2011-04-28T05:53:00.000-07:00

Spring is (finally!) in the air, and that means scholarship season!

For those who submitted a renewal application (and all accompanying requirements) by the April 1, 2011 deadline, your application is presently being processed. As long as you submitted a complete application, grades transcript with your name and cumulative grade point average of 2.0 or greater, and attached a letter verifying that you conducted at least 4 hours of community service, your scholarship will be renewed for the same (renewable) amount as the first year you received from the Foundation.

PLEASE NOTE: This year, we will be notifying you when your check has been sent to your institution via e-mail, so be checking your e-mail in mid-late July. If you have any questions in the meantime, don't hesitate to contact us at (330) 674-7303, or e-mail us at info@hcef.net.

Renewal Applications Due April 1, 2011 by 5:00 p.m.

2010-12-27T12:44:00.000-08:00

Attention Scholarship Recipients: If you are eligible for a renewable scholarship, your renewal application was mailed out today to your permanent address. The deadline to return it is April 1st, 2011 at 5:00 p.m.. If you do not receive your mailing by the first week of January, contact the Education Foundation at (330) 674-7303 to confirm your eligibility or have us send you a new renewal application. Renewal applications cannot be found on our website; they must be sent directly to the student. For more information about the renewing process, go to http://hcef.net/scholarship/index.html.

Renewal Applications and Immediate Community Service Opportunity

2010-11-03T12:37:00.001-07:00

Renewal Application Information

We hope everyone is enjoying their first semester or quarter of the school year! Just as a reminder, renewal applications will be sent to your home (not school) address in January 2011 and will be due April 1, 2011 at 5:00 p.m. (Late or incomplete applications will not be considered.) We require the following to ALL be submitted at that time:

The renewal application itself. (We will mail this to you. If you do not receive it by the end of January, please contact the Foundation at (330) 674-7303 and request that a new one be sent to you. Renewal applications cannot be found on our website. If your home mailing address has changed since last year, please help us update our files by giving us a call or e-mailing us at info@hcef.net.
Your most recent grades transcript. This will need to be from your fall or winter semester/quarter. It takes a while for many colleges to send official transcripts, so be sure to put in a request for your transcript as soon as possible. Many schools allow you to have the transcript sent directly to the Foundation (114 North Clay Street; Millersburg OH 44654), but it is your responsibility to ensure it arrives by the deadline date and time. If you cannot obtain an official transcript by the deadline and are able to retrieve your grades online, you may print them off and submit a copy from the internet as long as the school includes your name on the transcript that you print. Your grades transcript needs to reflect at least a 2.0 cumulative GPA in order to be considered to be renewed.
A letter verifying at least four (4) hours of community service. In your signed agreement with the Foundation, you agreed to commit to at least 4 hours of community service. These hours do not have to be conducted in Holmes County, but we prefer that they are since most of the donations the Foundation receives in order to fund our scholarships come from Holmes County individuals and entities. We understand exceptions including out-of-state schools, where it is difficult to make the journey home. This letter needs to be on the letterhead of the organization or group in which you've helped, state your name, how many hours you worked, and what you did during your hours of service. Please call the Foundation prior to conducting your service hours if the organization you've helped does NOT have letterhead, or if you are not sure whether or not the type of work is acceptable to the Foundation. (For ideas of what we accept, see the middle of the following page: http://www.hcef.net/scholarship/faq.html).

The application, transcript and letter verifying community service may be turned into the Foundation separately, but must ALL be received by the deadline. It is your responsibility as a recipient to ensure that the Foundation has received all three by calling us. You may also conduct community service in multiple places, as long as you conduct a total of 4 or more hours and have correspondence from each place in which you've helped.

Immediate Community Service Opportunity

Due to the changes at the Holmes County Library (the elimination of the Killbuck, Winesburg, and Walnut Creek branches), they are in great need of volunteers during this time of transition. If you are home on break and would like to help the library in order to fulfill your community service requirement for the Foundation, please call Susan Corl as soon as possible at (330) 674-5972 and let her know you would like to fulfill your community service requirements with the Holmes County Education Foundation at the library.

Send us photos of YOU!

2010-08-17T07:17:00.000-07:00

We know that many of our recipients have not yet made it to campus for the academic year, but for those who have (or will be soon!), our College Access program is putting together a display for the Holmes County College Fair (October 18th at WHHS) that shows off current college students in their environment at school. If you have a recent photo of yourself (even one from last academic year), could you send it to us? You can be studying, in a classroom setting, posing on campus, participating in sports, etc. We want to show students interested in higher education that they can do it, too!
Please e-mail your submissions to info@hcef.net by October 1st.

SCHOLARSHIP CHECKS SENT TODAY!

2010-07-16T10:08:00.000-07:00

To ALL (new and renewing) students who received scholarships from the Holmes County Education Foundation, checks for the full amount for the '10-'11 academic year were mailed to your respective schools today. This amount does not include outside scholarships (Bar Assoc., Brundige, CSB, Dickersheet, Purdy, Hummel, Holmes Family Medicine, and Weaver), which will be sent separately. First-year recipients (or those who received non-renewing scholarships last year who reapplied and received this year) will also receive a letter notifying them that their checks have been sent. If you need the Foundation to contact your school and let them know this scholarship check is forthcoming due to billing issues, don't hesitate to contact us and provide us with a contact name/address/e-mail/fax. Call us if you have any questions at (330) 674-7303.

College Information Sheets due July 1!

2010-06-17T05:28:00.000-07:00

For those receiving a scholarship from the Holmes County Education Foundation for the first time this year, your College Information Sheet (light blue sheet mailed with your award letter packet in May) is DUE ON JULY 1, 2010. This sheet requires you to tell us what school you will be attending in the fall. Please also sign the Media Release Form on the back (have a parent sign this as well if you are not yet 18). We will not issue a check to your institution if we do not have this form completed. Questions? Call us BEFORE the deadline at 330.674.7303.

Looking to fulfill your community service requirement early?

2010-06-01T06:24:00.001-07:00

For those whose scholarships are renewable for next year, a minimum of 4 hours must be served in community service in order to renew. Some upcoming opportunities might be a good way to fulfill your requirement early!

The Holmes County Trail Benefit Auction is a great way to fulfill that time! The Trail Benefit Auction will be held on Friday and Saturday, June 11 & 12. To arrange your community service hours, contact Trail Director Joan Miller at (330) 674-0475 or via e-mail at holmestrail@embarqmail.com.

Historic Downtown Millersburg could also use your help! Old Fashioned 3rd of July will be held (of course!) on July 3 in Millersburg. Various volunteers are needed, including:

Adult Supervisors (total of 12) to fill 2-hour shifts at the 65-foot inflatable obstacle course. The shifts run from 2 p.m. - 4 p.m., 4 p.m. to 6 p.m., and 6 p.m. to 8 p.m.
Historic Downtown Millersburg's annual raffle- they will need individuals to staff this booth throughout the day from noon until the raffle is held at 9:00 p.m.
Clean-up crew after the day's events, from 10:00 p.m. to 11:00 p.m.
Face painters from 12:00 noon- about 6:00 p.m. (tent, chairs, table, paints and brushes provided)

If any of these opportunities for Historic Downtown Millersburg interest you, please contact Tom Wilke at hdmillersburg@yahoo.com or at (330) 674-3955.

Are you a new recipient?

2010-05-21T11:00:00.000-07:00

Congratulations if you received a scholarship from the Holmes County Education Foundation! You should have received a letter from the Foundation, indicating your award, so if you did not receive a letter via postal mail, contact the Foundation at (330) 674-7303. Please refer to the list of things required of you as you receive the scholarship (listed on your award letter), including completing your College Information Sheet (DUE JULY 1, 2010!), keeping informed with this blog, and other requirements.

Two other things to keep in mind...

1.) SAYING THANKS
If your letter included a suggestion for a thank you note for your scholarship, it is highly recommended that you send your thanks. At a loss of what to say? Just let them know what your plans are, what you are hoping to accomplish during your college career, and what you look forward to... of course, all in addition to your appreciation to them for making the scholarship possible! Many of our named scholarships are in honor or memory of an individual within the community, and it is always nice for families to know more about the students who received the scholarship.

2.) COMMUNITY SERVICE
As you know, scholarships that are eligible to renew next year need a community service requirement to be fulfilled by the student in order to be eligible for renewal. For all NEW scholarship recipients, you do NOT need to conduct community service in order to receive your FIRST year's award, ONLY in order to renew for the 2011-2012 academic year (by April 1, 2011). The requirement is a minimum of 4 hours, which can all be conducted at one place, or several, as long as the hours add up to 4. For ideas, see our website section devoted to FAQs at http://www.hcef.net/scholarship/faq.html. All you have to do is conduct the community service, and then ask the organization that you've helped to write a letter stating your name, what you did, and for how long (in hours). If they have a letterhead, we prefer it to be on letterhead and not just a written letter. The organization can send it directly to the HCEF, or you can keep the letter to attach to your renewal application, which will be sent to you next year. As long as you are doing work without receiving a profit, it should be acceptable, but if you want to discuss your options with the HCEF before you do the community service, feel free to give us a call.

We will be posting other information in the future, so stay tuned. Don't hesitate to contact us if you have any questions along the way!

Welcome to our update page!

2010-05-19T08:03:00.000-07:00

The Holmes County Education Foundation is pleased to provide new and present scholarship recipients with the latest information about their scholarships, award letters, check notifications, renewal requirements and options, etc. Please refer to this website at least on a monthly basis to get the latest updates.