Scholarship “Builds Hope” at Cary’s Oak Village Academy
Cary, NC — A new scholarship in Cary provides a year’s tuition for preschool-aged kids to attend Oak Village Academy that otherwise wouldn’t have the opportunity due to their family’s financial situation.
The school established the nonprofit foundation that would raise funds for the Building Hope Scholarship well before the pandemic hit, in September 2019. The team started it up with the intent to help some local families overcome the challenge of coming up with the resources to provide high-quality childcare.
Just last month, the first recipient of the Building Hope Scholarship was named.
Coronavirus Hits, Increasing Applications
With the tidal wave of the coronavirus affecting so many families in 2020, a lot of applications for the scholarship came in. Building Hope Scholarship Foundation President Alicia Fink said,
“Our board went through each application very thoroughly. We knew we had to take it very seriously and had many virtual meetings to narrow it down to the finalists.”
At the end of the interviews and campus visits for finalists, a single recipient was chosen — the Jeffries-Glover family.
Kela Jeffries-Glover was on the search for childcare for her 17-month-old daughter Halo while working full-time. Her husband, Marcellus, attends ECPI and their family had stepped in to help care for Halo temporarily while searching for childcare.
Kela found Oak Village Academy, applied for the scholarship and later received notice her daughter, Halo, was a finalist. She toured the campus and a few weeks later Halo was invited to visit a classroom. “All my interactions with the staff felt very family-like,” said Kela. “I felt their kindness and compassion towards the children. It was a loving environment that I had not felt anywhere else.”
First Recipient, Halo, Receives Scholarship
Since the scholarship was awarded, Halo has been excelling at Oak Village Academy and her parents have taken comfort in knowing their childcare is secure and they will not experience interruptions in work as they had done so previously.
“2020 has been absolutely insane and this has given our family something to hold onto when doors have closed and budgets are tight. I’m hoping other families can benefit from this scholarship for years to come,” said Kela Jeffries-Glover.
VP of the Building Hope Scholarship Foundation, Adam Zablud says the goal is to continue making the scholarship available to many more families in need. “Seeing how this scholarship has impacted Halo and her family is exactly the reason why we did this,” said Zablud.
Contribute to Future Building Hope Scholarships
The Building Hope Scholarship is made up of donations raised to fund a recipient’s tuition for the year.
The foundation continues to raise money for the duration of the child’s attendance at the school for up to five years or until they go to kindergarten. Anyone can make a donation or submit an application on their website.
Story from staff reports.
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