Twenty-four years after a group of residents at Friendship Village of Dublin got together and raised the money to award three $500 scholarships to the community’s workers, the program this year awarded $3,500 in scholarships to each of 24 recipients. That’s a total of $84,000.
Friendship Village of Dublin is a not-for-profit continuing care retirement / life plan community located on 29 acres in Dublin, OH, near Columbus.
“It was really a partnership early on between philanthropy and the resident community. It remains the case that as a nonprofit community, many of our residents, in addition to living here, also like to support the parts of our community that rely on philanthropy for support,” Director of Philanthropy Betsy Gillespie told the McKnight’s Business Daily on Tuesday. “And so back in 2000, 2001, a small group of residents said, ‘Wouldn’t it be wonderful to support these young people who work here in the dining rooms and in housekeeping and in nursing with the scholarship program?’”
“There is such a connection between our residents, their families and the folks who work in the community every day. That’s really what keeps the program growing,” Gillespie said.
The scholarship program remains 100% donor-funded, she said, adding that donors include residents, their friends and family members, and local businesses. In the past two years, 88 donors contributed to the fund.
Workers who have been employed at Friendship Village of Dublin for at least one year can apply for these post-secondary scholarships. Their dependents are also eligible for the scholarship program.
“Our scholarship program underscores our commitment to making Friendship Village of Dublin an exceptional place to work and to inspiring the next generation of leaders,” Chief Operating Officer Jessica Rieker said in a press release.
One of this year’s recipients, Gillispie said, is a licensed practical nurse who is attending Columbus State Community College to become a registered nurse.
“Also, many of the young people who work in our dining rooms are high schoolers. And so this has been a tremendous retention tool, frankly, because they join us as a sophomore or junior in high school and learn that we have this wonderful scholarship program,” she said. “I can’t tell you how many of these young folks stay with us through college, because it’s a lovely place to work. They’re safe, they are with people who care about them, they make a fair wage, and they have the opportunity to have these scholarships.”
As long as they remain employed with the CCRC, they are eligible to apply each year for a scholarship.
The scholarships are not only for those pursuing health-related careers, Gillispie said, noting that this year’s recipients include a music major and a computer science engineering student. One man who has worked for Friendship Village of Dublin since he was in high school and has received numerous scholarships from the community is now preparing for medical school, she said
“I think this may be the third or fourth year he’s received a scholarship, and we’re sad it’s probably the last time we;re going to be able to award one, because a year from now, he won’t have had the tenure with the organization anymore,” Gillespie said. “We’re glad to have been able to help him as long as we did.”
