This year, the St. Charles Foundation is celebrating one of its largest-ever group of scholarship recipients with 22 individuals receiving more than $55,000 in scholarships in 2023. The scholarships fund secondary education and training for current St. Charles staff members pursuing careers in health care, such as nursing, pharmacy, phlebotomy, etc.
Amanda Davis, who currently serves as a certified nursing assistant at St. Charles Madras, is one of this year’s recipients and is using the funding to become a nurse. She says receiving the scholarship from St. Charles Foundation allowed her to continue to pursue her goals, after a rough patch forced her to leave school and struggle with housing. Davis keeps the letter announcing her scholarship pinned above her desk at home where she does her schoolwork. “I’m super grateful and thankful that I was able to get the scholarship and have that extra help to make sure I could afford to go to school.”
Jenny O’Bryan, executive director for the St. Charles Foundation, says funding scholarships is one of the exciting ways that philanthropy is strengthening our community.
“On Giving Tuesday, we are excited to celebrate our scholarship recipients and all of the generous donors in our community who understand the powerful positive impact giving can have. This scholarship program is not only enriching the recipients’ lives, but also supporting our local higher education systems, growing our economy and helping develop a highly trained health care workforce,” said O’Bryan. “These scholarship recipients are hard-working caregivers who just need a little boost to take them to the next level. We are so proud to be able to support them as they pursue their dreams.”
The scholarship fund is one of many ways the Foundation helps support the health of Central Oregonians. Learn more about the efforts of the St. Charles Foundation: https://foundation.stcharleshealthcare.org/.
