Bridging the Gap: How Scholarships Can Transform Communities

As hundreds of students across our region head back to the classroom, we are excited to celebrate the impact of several scholarship programs.

Scholarships are a great way for individuals, families, community groups, or corporations to give back to their respective communities by investing in educational opportunities for growth and personal development.

Here are just a few of our favorite examples that are changing lives across Greater Washington!

Kendra A. Grimmett, ‘15, MSW, LMSW, a Bernie Scholar

The Bernie Scholarship - Opening Doors for those living in subsidized housing

When Bernie Tetreault retired after 24 years of service as Executive Director of the Housing Opportunities Commission (HOC) in 1995, he and some of his friends wanted to come up with a special way to celebrate and continue to give back to the community that he had served for so long.

Together they established the Bernie Education Fund (now known as the Bernie Scholarship Awards Program) to provide scholarships for high school seniors and other adults living in subsidized housing in Montgomery County. Later the program became a component fund of the Greater Washington Community Foundation.

Since 1995, the program has awarded 841 scholarships to help students achieve their dream of earning a college degree or securing the workforce development training they need to jump-start their career. Fifty-three percent of scholarship recipients are the first generation in their family to go to college.

Students like Kendra A. Grimmett, who is now a Licensed Master Social Worker for Montgomery County Public Schools.

“Beyond the monetary aspect of the Bernie Scholarship, being a recipient gave me hope. Because the scholarship funders believed in me, it gave me a bigger purpose in life and I want to honor the generosity through my work. As a child of poverty, I made it a lifelong goal to break generational family cycles and achieved that by becoming a first generation college graduate.”

Landover Educational Athletic Recreational Nonprofit (LEARN) -Creating Opportunity for Prince George’s County Students

The Landover Educational Athletic Recreational Nonprofit (LEARN) Foundation was established in 1996 to support education programs for Prince George's County youth residing in the vicinity of Northwest Stadium (formerly known as FedEx Field). Since its inception, the LEARN Foundation has awarded close to $1 million in scholarships and grants to Prince George’s County students and community organizations.  Embedded in the foundation’s mission is the belief that the future is now, and that through partnerships and collaboration young people residing in the targeted areas can benefit through post-secondary education opportunities. 

In 2002, the LEARN Foundation became a component fund of the Greater Washington Community Foundation. Since that time, hundreds of students have benefited from scholarship awards toward college and other career preparation opportunities.

High school students with Tumaini DC, Inc on a once-in-lifetime study abroad experience in Ghana during Summer 2025.

Learn24 Out of School Time (OST) Scholarship – Expanding horizons outside the classroom

Over the past 4 years, The Community Foundation has been proud to partner with Learn 24 to offer the Learn 24 Out of School Time Youth Scholarship Program.

Learn24 is a network that supports equitable access to high-quality, Out-of-School-Time (“OST”) programs for the District’s students. Managed by the Greater Washington Community Foundation, Learn24’s OST Youth Scholarship Program provides funding to help students and their families – especially those with specific needs – access the programs they need to strengthen their education, health, and well-being outside of school.

Since 2021, the initiative has distributed nearly $1.4 million in scholarship funding to more than 300 youth for summer and after school programs ranging from tutoring and mentoring to music lessons, dance, sports or approved study abroad programs.

This past summer, several high school students were able to go on a lifechanging study abroad to Ghana with Tumaini DC. Over the course of two powerful weeks, students engaged in a cultural exchange, social justice work, university lectures, and service learning.

John & Ester Scheibel Family Foundation Scholarship – closing the graduate degree education gap

Jordan Colquitt at his Law School Orientation at Rutgers University.

“When you have a career, people tell you to pursue your passion,” John explains. “I think the same is true in retirement – go find whatever you’re passionate about and figure out a way that you can give back. For us, that passion is education.”

Recognizing the financial barriers that exist for students seeking a graduate degree, John and Ester Scheibel decided to create a scholarship for students pursuing graduate-level education in law, business, medicine, or other fields that “will propel them to personal success and allow them to give back.”

"The idea is to not only lift up an individual,” John explains. “But potentially—as that individual succeeds as a lawyer or a doctor—that person can lift up their family and their community.”

People like Jordan, one of the first recipients of the John & Ester Scheibel Family Foundation Scholarship. Jordan is an incredibly talented and driven Prince Georgian who has already made an incredible impact in his community as the interim Director of Development for Community Legal Services. Jordan was recently accepted into Rutgers Law School with the goal of using his law degree as a tool for good and becoming an advocate for social justice after graduation.

“Society would have you believe that a young Black man raised in Riverdale, MD, as one of 11 children could only dream of pursuing such a career,” Jordan wrote. “Yet, I am on this path by God’s grace, the unwavering love of my family, the support of my friends, and my determination to become the example that I needed.

Interested in establishing your own scholarship fund? Scholarship funds are a simple way to ensure that your philanthropic legacy can change lives and continue to impact your community for years to come.

The Community Foundation’s Donor Services team would love to work with you!  For more information, please contact us at 202-955-5890 or [email protected].