Below are 6 press announcements regarding the The Moline Foundation scholarship deadlines for the year 2010.  The due date is the same for all of them - February 16, 2010.

• Applicants are sought for the Moline High School Class of "59" Scholarship through The Moline Foundation.

• Applicants must:

• • 1. Be a 2010 Moline High School graduate
    2. Have a GPA of 2.8 on a 4.0 scale
    3. Provide a transcript and proof of class rank
    4. Be involved in at least one community service activity
    5. Submit an essay answer to the questions "What do you anticipate your life to be like in fifty years?" and "What prompts your interest in this scholarship?"

• Applicants who want to pursue a college, university or trade/technical school education are encouraged to apply for this newly established scholarship.

• The scholarship funds have been generated by alumni of the Moline High School Class of 1959. They have conducted hog roasts, participated in Birdies for Charity and received other donations. The initiation of this scholarship in 2009 commemorated the MHS Class of 1959's fiftieth reunion and the golden anniversary of the current Moline High School campus located at 3600 Avenue of the Cities, Moline.

• • • Applicants are sought for the Maggie Webb Scholarship through The Moline Foundation.

  To obtain a copy of an application for the Class of "59" scholarship, please contact the counseling department at Moline High School or call Linda Daily at The Moline Foundation, 309-764-4193.

   

• Applicants must:

• • 1. Be a 2009 Moline High School graduate
    2. Have a GPA of 2.8 on a 4.0 scale
    3. Provide a transcript and proof of class rank
    4. Be involved in at least one community service activity
    5. Submit an essay answer to the question "If you were to leave this earth tomorrow, what would be your legacy?"

• Last year two graduates of Moline were chosen by Maggie's friends and family through the Moline Foundation to receive $3,000 in scholarship funding.

• Maggie Webb graduated from Moline High School in 2001. As a senior in high school, Maggie began working at the Von Maur department store in Moline. Upon graduating from college, Maggie became a department manager for the Iowa City Von Maur store. She then worked at several other midwestern Von Maur stores earning acclaim for her sparkling personality and commitment to customer service.

• Maggie's life tragically ended in December, 2007 with the mass shooting at a Omaha Nebraska mall. Maggie had recently moved to Omaha.  She was employed as a Von Maur Store Manager when she was killed along with five other employees and two customers.

• "Her friends and family wanted to honor Maggie's life with this scholarship. She always had a smile on her face and was such a bright light for so many people,"Kelly Melliere Ryckegham,  Moline High School Class of 2001.

   

  The Moline Foundation announces February 16, 2010 as the deadline to apply for the Charles Curry SMART Bus Scholarship. Applicant must be a 2010 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 announces February 16 as the deadline to apply for the Clem T. Hanson Scholarship.  Residents of Moline School District No. 40 are eligible to apply for the four year college scholarship based on scholarship, financial need and extracurricular activities.  Students should contact their counseling office at Moline High School, Alleman High School or Black Hawk College for an application.   The three Hanson scholarship award winners will be chosen by a local scholarship selection committee and notified of their selection by May 1, 2010.  They will receive $1,500 annually for the next four years with an annual renewal based on satisfactory progress in their post-secondary education.

Since 1985, approximately 100 students have received the Hanson Scholarship Funds as a result of an endowment fund established through the generosity of Clem T. Hanson (1901-1985), a former Moline businessman and community leader.  He was the founder of Hanson Advertising Agency in Moline and was a co-founder of HON Industries in Muscatine.  Mr. Hanson also served as president of Moline Rotary in 1952 and was a volunteer for Boy Scouts, Arrowhead Ranch and United Way. The Clement T. Hanson Memorial Scholarship Fund was established with the Moline Foundation by his family, following the death of Mr. Hanson on July 17, 1985.

The Moline Foundation, founded in 1953, 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 Moline and the surrounding area. For more information, contact Joy Boruff, Executive Director, at (309) 736-3800.  The Moline Foundation receives and administers charitable gifts and has assets of approximately $14 million.

• The Moline Foundation announces February 16, 2010 as the deadline to apply for the Dolores A. Hulse-DiIulio Scholarship.  Female  seniors at Moline High School going on to pursue a bachelor's degree on a full-time basis with studies in the fields of chemistry, physics, engineering or pre-medicine are eligible to apply. Students should contact their counseling office at Moline High School for an application.

• The scholarship award winner will be chosen by a local scholarship selection committee and will receive a scholarship of $1,000.

• Dolores A. Hulse-DiIulio was a chemistry teacher at Moline High School for 36 years.  She retired in 1994.

• A 1958 graduate of Eastern Illinois University with a major in Chemistry and minors in Math and Physics, Dolores began teaching at Moline when the new   high school opened on 23rd Avenue.   She has always wanted females to believe that the field of science was for them not just for men.  Her hope is that this scholarship may help female students and encourage them in their goals.

• Founded in 1953, 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 $14 million.  For more information contact Executive Director Joy Boruff at (309) 736-3800 or visit The Moline Foundation web site at www.molinefoundation.org.

The Moline Foundation announces February 16, 2010 as the deadline to apply for the Lee Womack Scholarship. The Lee Womack Scholarship Fund is intended to provide funds to deserving students graduating from Moline High School who plan to obtain a college degree in education or teaching special education. Selected recipients shall use the funds for first year expenses for tuition, room, board, or books at any accredited two-year or four-year institution.  Students should contact the counseling office at Moline High School for an application form.

Lee A. Womack graduated from Moline High School in 1956 and from Arizona State University in 1960.  He taught school for eight years at Central Junior High School in Rock Island, Illinois.  In 1978, he started work for Mr. Quick, Inc. and became President of the corporation in 1975.  He served as President until 1980, when he founded the Lee Womack Insurance Agency.  For 22 years, he owned and operated the insurance agency.  Mr. Womack also served as President of Porkie's Restaurants, Ltd. from 1987 until he died in 2002.

Mr. Womack was highly respected in the Quad City community and had a reputation for providing others with an opportunity to succeed.  By establishing the scholarship fund in his name, his family and friends continue to provide that opportunity for years to come.

The Lee Womack Memorial Scholarship award was established by Mr. Womack's wife, Peggy, and the Lee Womack Memorial Golf Outing Steering Committee. Since his death, a golf outing has been held in Mr. Womack's memory to raise funds for a local charity.   In 2004, a scholarship fund was established and is administered through the Moline Foundation's scholarship program.

The Moline Foundation, founded in 1953, 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 Moline and the surrounding area. For more information, contact Joy Boruff, Executive Director, at (309) 736-3800.  The Moline Foundation receives and administers charitable gifts and has assets of approximately $14 million.

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American Veterans Traveling Tribute (AVTT) and Sands Resorts Donate TWO HARLEY DAVIDSON SPORTSTERS

Operation Gratitude Sends TWIN Milestone 500,000th Packages

Van Nuys, CA - December 21, 2009 - With the classic roar of freedom catching their attention, more than 1500 Operation Gratitude volunteers witnessed the presentation of the organization's historic 500,000th Care Package, as a parade of motorcycles rode onto the Armory Drill floor delivering the keys to TWO Harley Davidson Sportsters.  The keys, along with several other unique gifts, were added to Operation Gratitude care packages, to be presented to two U.S. Service Members serving in the harshest combat zones overseas.

Co-founders Carolyn Blashek and SSG Elizabeth Cowie, who started the organization in 2003, thanked AVTT and Sands Resorts for their generous donation of the Sportsters, and recognized the tens of thousands of volunteers, donors and supporters who have contributed throughout the years to the assembly and shipment of half a million care packages.

"The 500,000 care packages we have sent are an expression of our enormous respect and appreciation for those who voluntarily put themselves in harm's way to protect our freedom," exclaimed Blashek.  "How totally appropriate that today we are sending a classic American symbol of freedom--Harley Davidson Motorcycles--to two of our bravest warriors, both of whom have served multiple tours of combat duty."

"AVTT's mission is to honor, respect and remember those who served and thus those who are serving," said Don Allen, founder of AVTT, donor of one of the Bikes.  "The occasion of Operation Gratitude's 500,000th Care Package is a perfect opportunity to ensure that our message of support and gratitude is seen and heard by our Military around the world."

Lee Rawcliffe, President and CEO of Sands Resorts, and donor of the second Sportster noted:  "This exciting 500,000th package event represents a celebration of all the brave Americans who wear the uniform of our great nation.  We are honored to put 2 very special packages in the hands of two different service members who represent our courageous heroes-- past, present and future--from all branches of the Military."

In addition to the Sportsters, the twin 500,000th packages will include a year's supply of both 5 Hour Energy and Emergen-C. hand-made scarves, digital cameras from Target, t-shirts, hats, dvds and pins from the Shasta Salute to America Bike Rally, the usual items and personal letters provided by more than 250 Corporate Sponsors and Friends, and by tens of thousands of individual donors across the country.  Days of Our Lives Cast Members Jay Kenneth Johnson, Joseph Mascola and Taylor Spreitler presented a Certificate for two VIP Set Tours.

Special deliveries of the matching Half Millionth Packages are being arranged.

A 4th Grade student from North Carolina, the winner of the "Guess the Candy Weight and Letter Writing Contest,"  was announced, having guessed within a few pounds the total weight of candy donated to Operation Gratitude this Holiday Drive:  110,000 pounds.

Blashek and Cowie informed the energetic crowd that the 500,000th package represented:

~ 4 Million pounds of product
~ $5.5 Million of postage
~ 25 Million individual items
~ $50 Million worth of product

sent to the troops through Operation Gratitude since its inception in 2003.

With the shipment of its 500,000th package, Operation Gratitude wrapped up its 2009 Holiday Drive, having delivered more than 100,000 care packages to U.S. Service Members this year.

About Operation Gratitude:

Operation Gratitude (www.OperationGratitude.com ) is the 501 (c) (3) non-profit, volunteer organization that annually sends 100,000+ care packages filled with snacks, entertainment items and personal letters of appreciation addressed to individual U.S. Service Members deployed in hostile regions.  Our mission is to lift morale, bring a smile to a service member's face and express to all Armed Forces the appreciation and support of the American people. Each package contains donated product valued at ~$100 and costs the organization $11 to assemble and ship.

About American Veterans Traveling Tribute ("AVTT"):

AVTT (www.avtt.org) is a veteran-owned project that travels the USA to provide a forum for communities to HONOR-RESPECT-REMEMBER all who have sacrificed their lives for our country's freedom. In so doing, AVTT also honors all Veterans and those currently serving, by letting them know they will never be forgotten. AVTT is funded through sponsorship fees, donations, and sale of merchandise at events. Donations to support AVTT's mission are qualified charitable tax deductions through The Traveling Wall Foundation, a 501 (c)(3) charitable organization.

Sands Resorts (www.sandsresorts.com/heroes) has been the leading provider of Myrtle Beach vacations for over 35 years. Established in 1972, Sands now includes seven major oceanfront resorts, restaurants, a water park,  the nationally known beach bar Ocean Annie's, and vacations featuring golf and theater packages, children's programs, and convention accommodations. Sands Resorts new "Hall of Heroes," honoring our military, police and firefighters who throughout history have protected our freedom, is open free of charge, Monday through Friday from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. on the first floor of The Rawcliffe Center at Ocean Dunes/Sand Dunes Resort & Villas.