One of the educational missions of The Chamber Foundation, Inc. is to provide scholarships for students attending local area schools.

Thank you for your interest in our scholarship programs. See below for our wide range of offerings.

Bridges To Community Business Leader Scholarship - Download Application

The Chamber Foundation, Inc. is pleased to announce the availability of the 2013 Bridges to Community Business Leaders Trip Scholarship. 

Bridges to Community is an international non-profit organization based in New York helping to provide the basic human needs of sound shelter, education, and healthcare to impoverished communities in Nicaragua and the Dominican Republic. Bridges pursues these goals by engaging groups of volunteers from the United States and Canada to serve in materially poor communities. Volunteers work hands-on with Bridges’ staff and local community members on sustainable development projects such as construction of homes, classrooms, health facilities, fresh water systems, educational, agricultural and other similar projects. Bridges to Community was founded in 1992 and has constructed over 1,000 simple, basic homes, and scores of classrooms, water projects and health centers. 

Volunteers serve for a period of eight days (Saturday to Saturday) living and working in the rural community being served.  Trips are safe and secure with all lodging, food, and arrangements made by Bridges staff members, who accompany volunteers throughout the trip.  Between 800 and 900 volunteers each year participate in Bridges activities including many business leaders throughout North America, colleges and universities, medical schools, families, faith based groups women’s groups, and high school students.  Additional information can be obtained at www.bridgestocommunity.org or contacting Frank Pepe at Frankvpepe@gmail.com. Volunteers need no experience in construction or heavy construction tasks. 

Anyone wishing to serve the goal of community service to the poor is welcome.  Spanish language skills are desirable but not necessary.  The trip organizer is local resident and retired Superintendent of the Arlington Central School District, Frank Pepe.  Frank has visited both the Dominican Republic and Nicaragua with Bridges to Community on many occasions and will be a participant in the trip. This scholarship provides full payment of the trip fee of $1,295 for the adult trip departing on September 7, 2013 and returning on September 14, 2013.  All meals, in-country travel, and lodging are included.  The scholarship does not include air fare (estimated to be $600 from a New York airport).

The scholarship will be awarded to an employee of a member of the Chamber of Commerce.  The scholarship recipient shall agree to assist Bridges in reporting back to the members of the Dutchess County Regional Chamber of Commerce and the community on the experience of the trip.  Candidates whose employers or fellow employees also participate in the trip will be given special consideration. 

The application is available to download as a Word document at www.cfhvny.org or www.chamberfdn.org. For questions or clarification of the scholarship procedure, please contact Nick Shannon by phone at 845- 454-1700 ext. 1026, or via email at nick@chamberfdn.org or Jennifer Killian by phone at 845-452-3077, or via email at jkillian@cfhvny.org.

• All scholarship deadlines have passed.
  

For more information about the annual scholarship offerings of The Chamber Foundation, Inc., e-mail nick@chamberfdn.org