The smiling young faces working in dining services across 18 Erickson Senior Living communities nationwide are not only putting food on the table for residents; they also may be saving toward their future education in the form of student scholarships funded by residents.
“It really started as a way to give back to some of the students and to create that connection between the residents and the team members,” said Sarah Kokinos, Erickson’s national vice president of community living. “It is a great opportunity for residents to be contributing to the employees’ lives.”
Funded by resident contributions, the Erickson Student Scholarship Fund provides employees reimbursement for tuition and other educational expenses such as books for university or trade school. To be eligible for the award, the employee must work 1,000 hours at an Erickson community (most often in dining services) during their junior and senior years of high school as well as maintain good standing and satisfactory grades. Some residents even set up their own specialized scholarships for majors such as environmental science.
Kokinos said that the investment often is paid forward when recipients return to Erickson after completing their education.
“We get a number that come back to Erickson to work in different leadership roles, whether that’s coming back to dining and eventually becoming a dining supervisor director or a completely different path,” she said. “They might come back and take the financial route and work up the ranks to leadership. [The scholarship] is a really great way to foster that foundation of work ethic.”
Even if the scholarship recipients ultimately do not return to Erickson, Kokinos said, their experience at Erickson will help prepare them for the future.
“Those students might not typically spend time with people in the older generations, and we’re giving them access to that wisdom,” Kokinos said. “On the resident side, we’re giving them an ability to give back to the community through their wisdom and also financially. We share stories about the students. ‘This is what they’re doing. This is what they’re going to be studying.’ The students will often come back, and we can share updates.”
See the In Focus archive, and find out how to submit your photos and information for consideration, here.
