West High School Alumni Association Scholarship Recipients
Scholarships are provided by donations made to the Scholarship Fund
from our alumni and from sales of yearbooks.
Scholarship donations are tax deductible as the Alumni Association is designated as a 501 (C) (3) organization.
Our Tax Exemption EIN # is 54-2175924.
Starting in 2005, the Alumni Association has been in charge of determining the recipient of the Sid Smart Memorial Scholarship. This scholarship is named for former West science teacher Sid Smart. As directed by his widow, Pat Cozad Smart ‘47 (former West nurse), each year a student is chosen to receive the scholarship based on his or her interest in pursuing a career in the field of science or health. This scholarship has a separate fund set up with money donated in memory of Sid at his death and supplemented by Pat to reach $10,000.
In November, 2006, Pat lost her battle with cancer. The family has requested we continue the scholarships and rename the fund the "Sid and Pat Smart Memorial Scholarship Fund."
The Alumni Association has decided to annually honor Sid and Pat by adding $500 to each scholarship awarded to make it a $1000 scholarship like the others now being given.
In 2008, Robin Schmidt '49 Jan., sponsored the $1000 William "Doc" Dallas Campbell Art Scholarship in honor of his former West art teacher who was an inspiration and friend.
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Using your Kroger Plus Card can benefit the West Alumni Scholarship Program.
Join the KROGER COMMUNITY REWARDS PROGRAM
If you shop at a Kroger store, you can have purchase credits designated as going to our Alumni Scholarship Program. It is a free program that will benefit our Scholarship Program. You just need to register your Kroger Plus card to have your purchases attached to the West High Scholarship program.
The West High Alumni Association recently received confirmation that we comply with the regulations necessary for us to participate in the Kroger program. The Kroger program has committed to giving to charitable organizations through this program. At this time, the program is only valid in Ohio and Michigan. However, some cities in both states do not participate - Lambertville, MI and Cincinnati, Dayton, Springfield, OH in addition to Wheeling and Weirton, WV that are in an Ohio Kroger district.
All Kroger shoppers have a Kroger Plus Card or Kroger Credit Card that is scanned every time you go through the checkout line.
If you live in an area that is participating in the Kroger Community Rewards Program, we hope you will help us with this project and register your Kroger Card. It will just take a few minutes to designate the West Alumni Association as your charity of choice and have a percentage of your purchase earmarked to be sent to the West Scholarship Program.
Internet users may register at: www.krogercommunityrewards.com. It is somewhat of a detailed process, but if you follow the directions, you should be able to register your Plus Card on-line. When it asks for our organization number, it is 84464.
If by chance you have changed your name, address, or phone number since you obtained your Kroger Plus Card, you can call 1-877-576-7587 to update your information to assure we will receive all of your purchase credits. Your purchases will not count until you have registered your card.
We will keep you informed of our progress is receiving funds from the program and Happy Krogering!
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September 2009 - Hello from the Hartranft Siblings:
It has been a while since we graduated from West High School (1957 and 1960) but we still have fond memories of the days we spent walking the halls of that grand building. During the past five years, we have become involved in the Alumni Association Scholarship program and want to share a few of our thoughts with you, our former classmates, friends and fellow alumni.
West High School has remained the same in a lot of ways and has also changed in significant ways. One of the changes is in the diversity of the students. "Welcome to West High School" is printed in several languages as you enter through the lobby. The library is now on the first floor and the courtyard is no more. The building is a bit "weary" but the desire of the teachers to instill valuable information in the hearts and minds of their students remains strong.
One thing that has remained the same is the desire of the students to reach goals following graduation. We had those dreams and goals and have been blessed to be able to have reached some of them – the goal of running the world remains elusive, however! Many of the students whom we have interviewed as applicants for our West Alumni Association Scholarships will be the first in their family to attend college, many come from one parent homes and many attend school while working part-time or even full-time jobs to help their family.
When the Alumni Association "reactivated" in 1992, a main focus was to support programs that would give back to West High School – the school that gave so much to all of us. The Alumni Scholarship Program was put into effect when the By-Laws were drawn. The first scholarships were awarded in 1993 and have been presented to 116 students. This year, nine students received one time awards of $1000 each. That money won't support a student for a year of school but it may buy books, pay lab fees and help offset the tuition costs for a semester or a quarter. There were 22 applicants for these awards, and we wish we had the funds to help each and every one of them. So……the purpose of this letter is to ask for your help….each alumni who walked across the stage and had a diploma placed in his or her hand. There are several ways to help – first, donations to the scholarship fund (mailed to the treasurer) go directly into the fund and are used yearly for the awards. Second, we are setting a goal of establishing an endowment fund – with a starting base of $100,000, the WHSAA could use the interest generated on that money for awards and guarantee that deserving students will be assisted. Did we mention that the WHSAA is a 501 (c) 3 non-profit organization so ALL of your donations are tax deductible. With our handy dandy little calculator, we figured that if every one of our members gave $4.17 a month (that's $50 per year), we would generate approximately $75,000 each year…..wow, what a goal. Please think about it! We also have fund raisers each year – the golf tournament, the silent auction at the Christmas luncheon and other functions that are in the development stages.
If your interest is peaked, there are opportunities to assist with fund raising, review applications, interview candidates, mentor students, assist with the selection process and on and on and on. Interested yet? We hope so – we need you……
Kathy (Hartranft) McWilliams, Class of June 1957
Tom Hartranft, M.D., Class of June 1960