Please Support the Shepherd Scholarship.
#GivingTuesday 2018 may have passed, but it's not too late to support our campaign to support the William E. Shepherd scholarship.
By Bridget Finnell, Development Assistant
It is that time of year again! Yes, the time of giving and charity is upon us. During this season when we are blessed to have a myriad of opportunities to donate to causes that we deem worthy, I would ask you to take a moment to consider one specific cause and giving opportunity.
As you may or may not already know, the Scottish Rite Foundation, Inc., raises funds to support scholarships, among many other things. One scholarship in particular that is funded by the foundation is the William E. Shepherd Scholarship, which is “an unrestricted scholarship to pursue advanced education offered by the Supreme Council, 33°.” In other words, the Supreme Council, 33°, SJ, created this scholarship to be awarded to worthy and eligible scholars who are completing either a graduate or undergraduate degree with a concentration in a field that is focused on the service to or betterment of humanity. Eligible applicants must be United States citizens with a verified Masonic affiliation who are enrolled in an accredited university located in the United States, and have a GPA of 3.0 or higher. Those who wish to apply must do so online between January 15 and March 31. Awardees will receive $2,000 each year for up to four years in support of their tuition expenses. The number of Shepherd Scholarships that can be given out to deserving students is contingent upon the amount of donations we receive toward the scholarship’s fund. The more you give to the Shepherd Scholarship Fund, the more scholars we are able award with this financial gift toward their educational goals. The Supreme Council, 33°, would like to dedicate all of this year’s #GivingTuesday proceeds toward the Shepherd Scholarship in the hopes that we can have more recipients this year than ever before.
In light of this, we are asking that you mark your calendars for November 27, 2018, which is this year’s #GivingTuesday. #GivingTuesday is an event that occurs on the Tuesday after the Thanksgiving holiday. It is a day to help you fulfill your end of year philanthropic goals through our online and social media outlets. We invite you to visit scottishrite.org on #GivingTuesday to make your contribution to the Shepherd Scholarship Fund, and make a positive change in the life of a student who hopefully will go on to have a career that may benefit you and many others in the future.
This article originally appeared in the November/December 2018 Scottish Rite Journal, p. 3.