The Moline Foundation announces March 31, 2009 as the deadline to apply for the Charles Curry SMART Bus Scholarship. Applicant must be a 2009 graduate of a high school in Iowa or Illinois living in Henry, Mercer or Rock Island counties in Illinois or Scott or Muscatine counties in Iowa. Applicant may also be a freshman, sophomore or junior at an Illinois or Iowa college who graduated from a high school in one of the above five counties. Applicant must plan on majoring in or currently majoring in a Natural Resource curriculum or an Education curriculum. Students must enroll on a full-time basis. Students should contact their counseling office at your High School for an application or the Moline Foundation.

The scholarship award winner will be chosen by a local scholarship selection committee and will receive a scholarship of $500.00.

Charles E. Curry is the Founder of the Interstate Resource Conservation & Development (RC&D) SMART (Sharp Minds Are Reading Thoroughly) Bus.

The SMART Bus Program, committed to reducing illiteracy, which began in 2000, has handed out over 36,000 books to children in the Muscatine and Scott Counties in Iowa and Henry, Mercer and Rock Island Counties in Illinois.

Charles E. Curry is a successful farmer and businessman from Alpha, Illinois and has served his community as a volunteer with many organizations including Interstate RC&D, Inc., the Henry County Soil and Water Conservation District for the past 34 years, the Livestock Feeders Association, the Henry County Board of Education, the Black Hawk Shrine Club, the Ophiem, IL Lutheran Church, and many other civic organizations.

Mr. Curry is well-respected in the Quad Cities area serving in various capacities with the Interstate RC&D Council. His leadership qualities combined with a passion and a vision for improving our natural resources, promoting community and rural economic development and education has contributed greatly to the success of the RC&D program and to helping improve the quality of life in our area.

The Charles E. Curry Scholarship Fund was established in November of 2008 by the SMART Bus Committee to honor the hard work and dedication of Mr. Curry.

The scholarships are also administered through the Moline Foundation founded in 1953 to further the growth and development of citizens living in the Quad Cities region in Iowa and Illinois.

The Moline Foundation is a community foundation which provides grants to health, human services, education, community development, the arts, and other charitable organizations which benefit the citizens of the Quad City region. The Moline Foundation receives and administers charitable gifts and endowments with a current endowment fund of approximately $13 million. For more information contact Executive Director Joy Boruff at (309) 736-3800 or visit The Moline Foundation web site at www.molinefoundation.org.

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