On June 13th at the Sheraton Four Points in Downtown Washington, DC, 12 newly graduated seniors were recognized as the newest class of Fred Taylor Scholars.  With a turnout of 80 guests, including the new scholars, parents, current scholars in college, and board members, the luncheon was a great showing of support and encouragement to all who are pursuing their post-secondary dreams.

The program featured a humorous and insightful keynote address by Doug Grayson, a story from a current scholar, and the opportunity to recognize 12 new scholarship recipients. The event concluded with a slideshow, celebrating the years of FLOC participation and growth of this year’s new scholars.

The event celebrates the accomplishments of new scholars, recognizes the continued success of current scholars in college, and acknowledges the support of families, staff, and members of the Fred Taylor Scholarship Fund Board of Directors.  We are very proud of all our students’ accomplishments and look forward to watching them grow even more during their next year of post-secondary education.

FLOC is fortunate enough to have an endowed scholarship fund.  The Fred Taylor Scholarship Fund was created to support economically disadvantaged FLOC youth on a path to successful completion of post-secondary education.
 
The Fund was created to honor Fred Taylor, FLOC’s founding director, who recognized the transformative power of education to break the cycle of poverty in a family and community.  Fred Taylor envisioned a community in which each of our youth is empowered to: discover and nurture his or her unique talents; successfully complete a post secondary education program and become productive, fulfilled members of their communities.

The Fund, in partnership with FLOC’s  comprehensive Educational Guidance and Advocacy program,
strives to ensure the success of FLOC’s youth in pursuit of their educations through program support and need based grants.  These scholarships are designed to: (1) minimize financial barriers to post-secondary education; (2) provide incentives for grant recipients to take individual responsibility for their educations; and (3) maintain connectedness to FLOC program support.  A partnership of programming and grant-making serves to enhance the likelihood of success for our youth in pursuing post secondary education.

Currently, the Fund provides up to $2,000 a year to recipients who are selected through a demanding application and interview process.  Our scholars need our support now, more than ever, with dwindling financial aid, and a more competitive base of need.  We recognize that in order for us to continue to grow our endowment and be able to support even more scholars and support them better, we need more support.  One of the many ways you can support  FLOC is by making a donation to our scholarship fund.  To donate to the Fred Taylor Scholarship fund click here.