South Dearborn Dollars For Scholars Celebrating 25 Years

By Mike Perleberg South Dearborn Dollars for Scholars was established this week in 1990. Founders included (front row, left to right) Harley Robinson, Ed Cummings, Doris Schipper, (back row, left to right) Natalie Harves, Dave Armstrong, Steve Mendall, Marvin Duerstock/Principal, Rick Fields, Greg Platt/Superintendant, Doris Schipper, Nancy Turner, and Kathi Green. Photo provided. (Aurora, Ind.) - South Dearborn Dollars for Scholars celebrates its 25th birthday this week. The scholarship organization is one of the strongest in the area, having awarded more than $660,000 to 737 South Dearborn High School graduates since it was founded on November 28, 1990. Its two deceased founders were former South Dearborn High School principal Marvin Duerstock and guidance counselor Kathi Green. Having such an organization available makes it easy for individuals, businesses, and other organizations to support the next generation of local leaders as they further their education. “The cost of college is rising faster than the cost of living,” says SDDFS director Debbie Busching. “Scholarships are the best was to get ahead.” Busching says Dollars for Scholars has grown from just four memorial scholarships in 2002 to more than 40 this year. The non-profit also awards 15 to 20 foundation scholarships each up to $1,000 to South Dearborn graduating seniors each year. The scholarships can be used for vocational and technical training as well as college, Busching says. More than $40,000 went to 43 graduates this past spring. Recipients of SDDFS' 2015 scholarships. Photo provided. Many of the scholarships are named after teachers and alumni, some living and some not. The owner of local McDonald’s restaurants has set up a scholarship to award to an employee graduating from South Dearborn each year. Work is being done to honor late alum Kraig Jefferson with a scholarship in his name. The organization has also been awarding what it calls Challenge Scholarships. Those go to South Dearborn grads who are in their second or third year of college. Funding from American Electric Power in Lawrenceburg and the City of Aurora through the Dearborn Community Foundation have supported that program, Busching says. SDDFS makes it easy for students to apply for the various scholarships as well. Most scholarships require their own application, meaning that paperwork can pile up for grads-to-be. Dollars for Scholars allows students to submit just one application to be considered for all of its scholarships. When looking at the applications, it’s not just the straight A students who are selected. Busching says grades are important, but SDDFS looks more at a student’s community service and whether they have held a job. “I can remember when I was in high school that it was all based on grades. Now it’s about how active you are in the community. It’s very important,” Busching says. “You can be a C student and do a lot of community service and still get a scholarship.” Volunteers, whether it is board members or students and parents who help out with annual events, are what have helped make SDDFS so successful for the past two and a half decades, Busching says. You can learn more about South Dearborn Dollars for Scholars at http://www.southdearborn.dollarsforscholars.org/. RELATED STORIES: Scholarships Granted To 43 South Dearborn Graduates