Donors in attendance represented big businesses like Champion International, and Coastal Lumber, but they also included individual families - like the parents of Benny Strickland. They chose to honor the memory of their teenage son, lost to leukemia as a young boy. The scholarship was established the year he would have graduated from Roanoke Rapids High School. Other scholarships recognized at the ceremony included civic and professional groups like the Rotary Club, the Lions, and the Fraternal Order of Eagles. The donors may establish scholarships to suit their desires and interests or may make gifts to the General Scholarship Fund.
Many donors give an annual gift to establish a named scholarship.
Scholarship donors often help to establish the criteria for the award by selecting a specific program area for the gift or by stipulating other preferred requirements. Some gifts to the Foundation are pooled into a General Scholarship Fund. This fund is set aside to receive memorial gifts and general donations that are not designated for a specific scholarship. The benefits resulting from community scholarship support are many and far-reaching. Scholarships can ultimately provide a skilled workforce, a better quality of life for residents, and a better-educated Roanoke Valley.