We extend our heartfelt thanks to the customers of Cooper’s Corner and State Street Fruit Store for their donations to Northampton Dollars for Scholars (NDFS). For a over a year, our fellow board member, Rich Cooper, has had donation cans by the cash registers at his shops. Customers donated spare change, dollar bills, and the occasional $5, $10 or $20 bill to NDFS. Over the months, these small (and not so small) anonymous donations grew into a large enough amount to fund a $1,000 award, The customers of Cooper’s and State Street Scholarship, that will soon be available to students from Northampton, Florence and Leeds. This show of community support is exactly what the founder of Dollars for Scholars, Dr. Irving Fradkin, had envisioned in 1958 when he proposed that if everyone in his community of Fall River donated $1, there would be enough money to provide scholarships to every student in town. As part of our mission to be “the community behind the students,” NDFS awards a scholarship to every student who completes the application process. These scholarships are available to students who live in Northampton regardless of what high school they attend. Students can also apply each year they are in a post-secondary institution, including trade programs, for a maximum of four years. In 2022, NDFS awarded $108,500 to 143 students; we encourage eligible students to apply for an award when the application season begins in January. As we take stock of all we are grateful for in this holiday season, we at NDFS want our donors, the community behind the students, to know how deeply grateful we are for their support.
Leslie Skantz-Hodgson
Leeds