Applications for 2024 Scholarships are now closed. Thank you. 

__________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Congratulations to the Senior Class of '23 and the college students continuing to receive our support. 

Please upload the 2023 Scholarship Awards program to see a list of this year's recipients, as well as information about Northampton Dollars for Scholars' history and descriptions of our Named Scholarships!

_________________________________________________________

Providing Opportunities for Local Students

Northampton Dollars for Scholars® is a community-based volunteer organization serving the cities and towns of Northampton, Leeds, and Florence, Massachusetts, with the mission to provide scholarships for local students' post secondary education.

Northampton Dollars for Scholars recently announced its annual scholarships to students graduating from high school or attending college or advanced vocational training in the fall. This year we were able to present our awards to our student recipients in person for the first time since 2019. We also  continued to publish a full-page piece in the Daily Hampshire Gazette to celebrate 2023's high school recipients. This year, we provided over $129,000 in scholarships to 171 students. Congratulations to our 2023 Award recipients!

 

As part of our commitment to be equitable to all students in Northampton, every student who completes the application process obtains a scholarship. We also provide 60 scholarships named in memory of, or in honor of people who have lived in and served this community. These Named Scholarships often require students to qualify through specific criteria, accomplishments, or plan to pursue designated academic or vocational interests.

Our ability to support all of these students relies on donations from our community and the many people who have connections to Northampton. As Northampton Dollars for Scholars is run by an all-volunteer board, every donated dollar goes directly to the students. We wish to thank the individuals, businesses and organizations that have contributed over the years. Please know that our continued commitment to lessen the financial burden of post-high school training and education depends on your generosity.

We appreciate your interest in our mission to be The Community Behind Our Students.

_________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________________________________________

To make a contribution, please go to our DONATION PAGE!

__________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Elena Frogameni

__________________________________________________________________________________________________________

The Customers of Cooper's and State Street Scholarship 

We extend our heartfelt thanks to the customers of Cooper's Corner and State St. Fruit Store for your donations to Northampton Dollars for Scholars (NDFS). For over a year, our fellow board member, Rich Cooper, has had donation cans by the cash registers at his shops. Customers have donated spare change, dollar bills, and the occasional $5, $10 or $20 bill to NDFS. Over the months, these small (and not so small) anonymous donations have grown to a large enough amount to fund the new $1,000 Customers of Cooper's and State Street Scholarship.

This show of community support is exactly what the founder of Dollars for Scholars, Dr. Irving Fradkin, had envisioned in 1958 when he proposed that if everyone in his community of Fall River, MA donated $1, there would be enough money to provide scholarships to every student in town.  

As part of our mission to be "the community behind the students," NDFS awards a scholarship to every student who completes the application process. These scholarships are available to students who live in Northampton, Florence or Leeds regardless of what high school they attend. Students can also apply each year they are in a post-secondary institution, including trade programs, for a maximum of four years. We encourage eligible students to apply for an award when the application season begins in January of each year. 

We at NDFS want our donors, the community behind the students, to know how deeply grateful we are for your support.

__________________________________________________________________________________________________________

The Julie Heyl-Rushmer Memorial Scholarship

Julie, a 1993 graduate of Northampton High School, was raised in Northampton. She was a skilled dancer, performing annually with the Movement Ensemble at Look Park, and competing and winning in dance competitions along the East Coast. Julie graduated with honors from Skidmore College in 1997, with a degree in cellular and molecular biology. At Skidmore she excelled on the crew team and was awarded Most Valuable Oarswoman. Following college, she moved to Boston to begin a career as a medical researcher but found her true passion in the restaurant industry. Throughout her career she continued to benefit from the discipline and lessons she gained as a dancer winning several restaurant awards including earning a spot in Boston Magazine's Best of Boston awards. Julie moved to Chicago in 2008 to live near her sisters' family. She died at the age of 44 from colon cancer.

To make a donation in Julie's memory, please go to our DONATION PAGE. Please be sure to note that your donation is intended for this scholarship when you make your donation. Thank you.

__________________________________________________________________________________________________________

The Chris Umbach Memorial Scholarship

Chris, a 2000 Graduate of Northampton High School, was born in Mt. Kisco New York, and as a child lived with his family in San Juan, Puerto Rico; Dublin, Ireland; and Pointe Claire, Quebec, before moving to Northampton in 2000.  He attended Jackson Street School, JFK, and graduated from Northampton High School, where he played football and lacrosse.  As a sophomore in high school he spent a semester in France, perfecting the French he learned in Quebec.  He graduated with honors from Lehigh University, with a major in biochemistry.  Since 2015 he had lived in the San Francisco Bay Area, working as a software engineer, most recently for Forge Global and Quartzy, Inc.  He had a sense of adventure that included sky diving, surfing and rock climbing, as well as traveling through Europe and South America, including Buenos Aires and Patagonia.  He maintained his friendships with his Northampton friends, including several who also moved to the Bay Area, as well as those who remained in Massachusetts.

To make a donation in Chris's memory, please go to our DONATION PAGE. Please be sure to note that your donation is intended for this scholarship when you make your donation. Thank you.

__________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Chapter Honors Founders

awardsThe Founders Awards: Recognizing the outstanding and ongoing contributions of three of the original members of Northampton Dollars for Scholars. Their talents and tireless efforts have helped create and sustain our "Community Behind the Students."


Frank Heston, co-founder and board member of the local chapter of Dollars for Scholars, a retired teacher, and still-active tennis coach. Frank's consistent, optimistic and realistic voice has helped foster the breadth and variety of scholarships available to Northampton students.

Ralph Levy, founding member of Dollars for Scholars, ran Daniel's Clothing store in Northampton for 20 years, taught theatre, speech and television courses at Duquesne University, Greenfield Community College and Northampton High School before retiring after 13 years as Senior Administrative Aide to House Majority Leader William P. Nagle, Jr. Ralph has built a lasting reputation as a vigorous supporter of the arts at Northampton High School and Smith Vocational High School.

Kathleen Sheehan, co-founded Northampton Dollars for Scholars while serving as Leeds School principal. Endowed with an irrepressible optimism and an eagerly-expressed confidence in everyone with whom she deals (and Kay knows a lot of people), Kay brings a unique energy to any and all occasions.

 

Northampton Dollars for Scholars

P.O. Box 60382, Florence, MA 01062-0382

northamptondollarsforscholars@gmail.com