For the past 60 years the Rotary Club has made loans available to high school students attending Lord Fairfax Community College and other colleges. The student loan fund was established in 1936 by a bequest of approximately $20,000 from the estate of Henry J. Courtney of Baltimore, MD in honor of his nephew Dowell J. Howard, a member of the Winchester Rotary Club and a past Rotary district governor. From this modest beginning the fund assets have grown to over $400,000 and has provided hundreds of thousands of dollars in loans and scholarships to needy local students.
Though the fund initially only made loans, contributions from the club and from individual members have substantially increased the fund’s assets enabling the fund to add a scholarship program. Annual scholarships are awarded to LFCC directly through the college’s financial aid office and through three of the local high schools (Handley, James Wood and Millbrook). Because the demand for loans has diminished over the past several years, we are also offering a $3000 scholarship to one of our graduating seniors experiencing serious financial need rather than the usual merit criteria. Qualification is also based on the recommendation of school administration or at least one teacher who can verify that the student has the interest and capacity to succeed at higher education. Application for this scholarship can be made by direct contact to the committee chair along with completion of the application form.
We will continue to make loans available to graduating seniors as well. The loans carry no interest until after the student leaves college or graduates. We encourage individuals to recommend worthy applicants for both loans and the scholarship. The school the student plans to attend may be one of arts, science or technical support. Please use the attached loan application for student loans or your own local high school scholarship form for the $3,000 student scholarship.