Peninsula Hawks Scholarship Fund Awards Record Amount

Now in its 21st year, the Peninsula Hawks Scholarship Fund awarded a record $455,000 in 452 scholarships to 166 graduating seniors at its annual ceremony May 28 at Peninsula High School, compared to $434,500 given to 189 seniors last year.

The winners include 61 students from the Key Peninsula, down from 72 last year.

According to the Peninsula School District, the fund is one of the largest in the state. It was founded in 1984 by a group of PHS parents. The first year, they gave out $5,000.

“The Peninsula Hawks Scholarship Fund continues to thrive thanks to a growing number of generous community donors and the success of the SAVE Thrift Store,” said Deb Krishnadasan, president of the volunteer scholarship committee.

The scholarships are funded by about 150 donors, including the Seahawks Academic and Vocational Education (SAVE) Thrift Store, which sells donated items, located at 1401 Purdy Drive in an old fire station below the high school.

SAVE contributed $130,143 this year, up from $125,000 the year before, according to SAVE Treasurer Deanna Russell.

“The thrift store is by far our largest donor for this organization,” she said. “We are very thankful for the volunteers and staff who work so hard down there, especially the manager, Debbi Brockman, who keeps it all going.”

The store has nine employees supplemented by community volunteers and PHS students whose volunteer work earns credit toward supporting their school sport or club, or a scholarship.

Any PHS senior planning to attend any accredited educational institution, vocational or academic, is eligible for a scholarship. Students apply by submitting portfolios that include their academic records, community service resumes, personal statements, and letters of recommendation.

The fund volunteers do not choose scholarship winners; donors select their recipients, according to Russell, while SAVE asks outsiders to choose recipients.

“We recruit five community members that have no affiliation with us, with any of our seniors, and no affiliation with Peninsula School District,” Russell said. “They read all of the portfolios and distribute all the thrift store monies, and some donor money. Certain donors don’t want to make their own selection. They sit down and decide whose name is going next to whose award.”

Only a small majority of PHS seniors apply for a scholarship.

“Usually around 55%, 60% of the class will turn in portfolios,” Russell said. “The numbers have come down a little bit since COVID. Some have a scholarship from athletics or whatever, and they don’t participate, or they don’t need money, or they don’t think they’re going to go to college or a tech school or anything else.”

“My sense is that we’re getting more kids going technical routes, vo-tech, not just universities,” she said. “We do have some donors that are specifically looking for kids who are not going to universities. We support anything as long as it’s accredited.”

Sometimes scholarships go unclaimed because plans change; students have 18 months to collect their award or communicate with the committee before their award is rolled back into the fund. Some fund donors, like The Longbranch Foundation, also offer scholarship renewals and encourage students to reapply each year they pursue their education.

The fund is also in need of volunteers, Russell said.

“This year, we’ve limped through,” she said. “We potentially can have seven board members: we’re down to four right now, and we’re giving away $450,000 and running a thrift store. I think there are eight or nine of us who are actively taking care of everything.”

Russell started volunteering for the fund in 2009.

“My youngest graduated in 2016, he’s married, he has two children, and that’s the same scenario with several of us,” she said. “Our kids have long since graduated, and we’re still doing this because we love the program. It’s hard to walk away from helping these kids get a little bit of a boost. It’s not just giving money; it’s letting the kids know that the community supports them. How do you walk away when there’s a need?”