Elias Foundation, Inc
Mental Health Scholarship Fund
01.
Districts that are welcome to participate include the five townships at the eastern end of New York's Suffolk County, namely Riverhead, Southampton (which includes Westhampton), Southold, Shelter Island, and East Hampton. These constitute Long Island's North Fork and South Fork and are considered part of the East End. Additionally, Eastport High School District may apply.
Up to (3) three high school candidates will be selected and submitted by the school counselor, per district, for consideration. There may be only (1) one award per district given.
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The process includes a completed application form, letter from school official, and an essay by the student focusing on their mental health challenges while attending school.
Suggested Topics for the Essay:
Describe how you overcame the adversity (adversities) caused by your personal challenges.
What have you learned from that experience?
How can your school district or community improve in helping other students with disabilities?
02.
Personal Criteria
All applicants must meet the following criteria:
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Be a U.S. citizen
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Be accepted and enrolled at an accredited college/university/technology program within New York State.
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Have a mental/behavioral health challenge and that can be confirmed by a qualified person (medical professional, therapist or school counselor)
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Have Parental/Legal guardian approval if the student is a minor.
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Meet Income requirements - Total household income must not exceed US $100,000 per year.
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Merit requirements - minimum yearly school average must be 85% or higher.
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Current enrollment in high school and in good standing with the school.
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Merit requirements:
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Minimum overall GPA for both junior and senior year must be 85% or higher.
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Current enrollment in high school with good standing and no disciplinary referrals.
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IEP/504 not necessary for criteria.
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03.
Paperwork:
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Complete the entire application form and have it notarized by the student and if he or she is a minor, by his or her parent/or legal guardian (see downloadable pdf below).
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Submit a typed, double spaced, 12pt font essay of no more than 1,000 words with the predominant theme of how you overcame your mental health adversity
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The counselor/school official must include a cover letter recommending you for the scholarship. The letter should state that you are a student in good standing and have been accepted into a local community college/ state university or technical school. (for example, BOCES). The school counselor should acknowledge that the information on the application has been verified and confirmed to be true.
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A school representative is to sign the application.
04.
Submission by the District:
All three (application, student essay, school counselor cover letter) parts are to be submitted to the foundation in one
email to cpoulos@elias-foundation.org
Application Deadline:
This is a limited annual scholarship. The deadline to enter is yearly by March 31st
Notification:
We will send the counselor a notification confirming receipt of your submission.
We will notify the school district of the scholarship recipient by May 1st of the same calendar year.
05.
05.
Scholarship Management
Privacy: Participation in our scholarship program constitutes your consent to use your personal information for the purposes of offering the scholarship and reporting to the appropriate tax authorities only. We will NOT use your personal information for marketing purposes. There will be committee members comprising of board members and clinicians that will review the entries. We will not share your personal information with any other persons or entities other than the committee members associated with Elias Foundation Inc, and East End Mental Health providers who may be reviewing the submission for content. All submissions will be HIPPA compliant and confidentially of students will be maintained.
