The Center for Rural Development is asking supporters to make a difference in the lives of young people in Southern and Eastern Kentucky by giving back to the Rogers Scholars program on Dec. 1—GivingTuesday.
Rogers Scholars—The Center’s flagship youth program—is an intensive one-week summer program that provides valuable leadership skills and exclusive college scholarship opportunities for rising high school juniors in The Center’s 45-county primary service area to seize their potential as the region’s next generation of leaders and entrepreneurs.
“We are excited to be a part of the GivingTuesday campaign and encourage supporters to consider making an online donation to the Rogers Scholars program on or before Dec. 1,” said Lonnie Lawson, President and CEO of The Center for Rural Development. “All donations will go directly to support the program and will change the lives of young people in Southern and Eastern Kentucky.”
The Rogers Scholars program is provided tuition-free to students and supported solely through donations, contributions, and special fund-raising events.
“It’s important to support programs like Rogers Scholars, because it provides unique opportunities for students as well as a way to earn college tuition,” said 2019 Rogers Scholar and Estill County High School student Summer Evans.
The funds raised for Rogers Scholars through the GivingTuesday campaign will help ensure the region’s youth receive the skills they need to be leaders and entrepreneurs, and that they never have to leave home to find their future.
“Because of my completion of the Rogers Scholars program, I was able to attend Lindsey Wilson College with a full tuition scholarship,” said Kennedy Bates, a 2016 Rogers Scholar graduate from Metcalfe County and education major at Lindsey Wilson College. “I definitely wouldn’t be here right now. My life would look completely different if it weren’t for Rogers Scholars.”
Since the program’s inception in 1998, approximately 1,374 high school students have graduated from Rogers Scholars, and potential scholarships valued at more than $11 million have been offered to graduates from 19 colleges and universities.
For more information about Rogers Scholars, contact Allison Cross, Community Liaison and Youth Programs Coordinator, at 606-677-6000 or email across@centertech.com.
GivingTuesday, created in 2012, is a global generosity movement unleashing the power of people and organizations to transform their communities and the world. Visit www.givingtuesday.org to learn more about GivingTuesday.