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Monday, May 20, 2013

By Janet Hefler
Published: June 25, 2009

At first glance, the small type on the list of student scholarships awarded at Martha's Vineyard Regional High School's Class Night on June 12 appears a blur of grey. But each number, whether $200 or $10,000, stands out, in an impressive $850,000-plus total, as a testament to the Island community's generous support of its students' education.

Whether landing a big fish, honoring a loved one's memory, or cooking a bathtub-sized batch of spaghetti, hard work and selflessness go into the fundraisers and donations that add up to scholarship dollars.

This year's total scholarship awards exceeded $850,850, according to Michael McCarthy, guidance director at Martha's Vineyard Regional High School (MVRHS).

Money donated by Island clubs, organizations, businesses, church groups, law enforcement and emergency responders, families, and individuals made 552 individual awards possible.

In addition to graduating seniors who receive scholarships, many post-secondary graduates apply and return for multi-year scholarships. This year's graduating seniors received approximately $541,990 in 364 awards and post-secondary graduates, $308,860 in 188 awards.

"It speaks volumes when we're in the economic times we're in that all of these people were able to still generate in excess of $800,000 for our kids," MVRHS principal Stephen Nixon said last week. "That is just remarkable. I think it sends a lot of messages. It sends a message that reminds everyone just how much the community supports education here on the Island, and I think it's a great reminder for our kids about how well they are supported."

MVRHS school committee chairman Susan Mercier agreed. As the parent of graduating senior Emily Mercier and an awards presenter, Ms. Mercier said, "We were there for three and a half hours on Friday night, and it was the most amazing night we've ever participated in on the Island. It is a really powerful night, for people to stand up and have us all remember those who mean so much to the students and made such an impact on them - and are still impacting students' lives."

Ms. Mercier, who also serves as president of the MVRHS Girls' Ice Hockey Booster Club, said the recession definitely made fundraising more challenging this year. "We give out a $1,000 scholarship every year, and it really made us stop and think this year," she said. "Our fundraising efforts, like a lot of people's, were not as successful. But it's so important to keep moving forward."

"The thing I don't want us to lose sight of is when you are going to these spaghetti dinners or buying a raffle ticket or going to a car wash, you are supporting the program, definitely," Ms. Mercier added. "These children are having opportunities they would never be able to have otherwise, such as playing in tournaments or singing in Europe. But you're also supporting a very important scholarship program."

As the manager and buyer at Edgartown Books, Ms. Mercier also pointed out that when Islanders support local businesses, those businesses in turn support local causes, such as school fundraisers.

In addition to large donations from big organizations, Mr. Nixon said, "It's also those people who are running fundraisers all year and having spaghetti dinners and car washes and all those things, who give a thousand dollars here and a thousand dollars there with consistency, that help bring the total to $800,000."

Many high schools in Massachusetts towns with populations greater than the Island's do not generate anywhere near that amount in scholarship funds, Mr. Nixon noted. MVRHS guidance counselor John Fiorito illustrated that point in an anecdote he shared on Class Night.

Mr. Fiorito said that a friend of his attended a class night at a high school off Island with a similar enrollment. A student who was in the top 10 percent of her class, played varsity sports, and volunteered many community service hours received five scholarships. She and her family were thrilled that the multiple awards added up to $800.

"This is a common story off-Island, and I tried to make the point that we are very lucky," Mr. Fiorito said in an email last week. By comparison, some of the individual scholarships awarded by groups such as the Martha's Vineyard Striped Bass and Bluefish Derby, for example, were as much as $10,000.

"When it all comes down, Martha's Vineyard is still a very small, tight-knit community," Mr. Nixon said. "I think that because there's a sense of community, it's not all about just letting one class succeed. It's the overall goal of wanting our children to continue to succeed, and that's why the giving continues on an annual basis."

No matter what the amount, as a parent with two daughters in college, Ms. Mercier said every dime helps. "Even for some kids that have funding from the schools they're attending or their parents are taking out loans, just to say, look, this will buy your books. That's a tremendous gift to a family," she said.

As Mr. Nixon reminded, "For some of these young people, some of the scholarships and money they get make the difference between whether they're going to go to college or not. If it wasn't for those contributions, a lot of those kids going to college wouldn't be able to attain that dream."