MOUNT VERNON — A fundraiser to benefit the Wendy Lee Williams scholarship program will be held from 4 to 8 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 18, at the Mount Vernon Community Center on Pond Road.
There will be a silent auction from 4 to 5 p.m. and an inside garage sale from 4 to 8 p.m. The Sunday Project Swing Band will play from 6:30 to 7:30 p.m., and Fresh Ella’s will be serving Maine-made ice cream from 4 to 8 p.m.
The scholarship has been awarded to a graduating senior of Maranacook High School since 1984; the year Wendy Lee Williams would have graduated. A total of $1000 given in increments of $250 each Spring semester to a student majoring in and continuing in a health career track.
Williams lived a short but very relevant life battling several health issues, including diabetes from age 3 and cardiomyopathy at age 12. She was academically gifted, played sports when she was well enough, liked to sing, and enjoyed riding her bike (which she paid for herself with her own earnings).
She liked camping and fishing and loved to read. She fought through all her pain and health issues with a sense of humor. She was kind and loyal to friends and family, and her dream was to become a doctor and fly herself around the world in her own plane to help people.
The original scholarship, established in 1984, the year she would have graduated from Maranacook High School, was designated to be awarded to a student going into a medical profession. The guidelines, revised in May 2015, are as follows:
* The scholarship of $250 per year will be given out after the recipient has successfully completed his/her first semester in college, with at least the equivalent of a C average, for a total of $500 for two-year college and $1000 for four-year college, providing the student meets and continues to meet the qualifications.
* The scholarship will be given to a graduating student from Mount Vernon. If no one from Mount Vernon qualifies, any graduating student from another town in the district may be selected as long as he/she fits the other criteria.
* The recipient of the scholarship must be going to college in pursuit of a medical/health profession, such as physician, registered nurse, counselor, psychologist or psychiatrist, radiology specialist, medical researcher, or a similar profession.
* The recipient of the scholarship does not have to be an A student. But this student should be someone who cares for others and has the determination to follow through and complete his/her studies to go on to a health/medical profession in order to help people in keeping with Wendy’s dream to serve others.
* During the recipient’s college years, the student must maintain the equivalent of a C average and, also, remain in the pursuit of a medical/health profession.
For more information, call 315-339-3852 or email klhbdh81@aol.com.
