LAWRENCEVILLE, Ga. – The Peach State FCU C.A.R.E.S. Foundation has announced this year’s scholarship and educational grant recipients.
The Foundation awarded $290,000 to high school seniors, professionals seeing career advancement, and educational organizations.
The annual scholarship program is one of the ways the Foundation achieves its mission of making meaningful community impacts within Peach State FCU’s service areas. It recognizes education as a pathway for creating and cultivating a secure financial future for the individuals and communities in which Peach State serves, the credit union said.
“The Foundation’s scholarship program provides more than just financial assistance,” said Demitra Houlis, Peach State’s chief administrative officer and foundation president. “It gives these individuals hope and access to sustaining a brighter financial future that may not have been readily accessible to them before.”
The scholarship program pays homage to Peach State FCU’s founders, past and present board members and employees, and the lifetime achievements of numerous distinguished school system and community leaders.
In honor of the credit union’s founders, Career Advancement Scholarships were awarded to these professionals seeking career advancement:
- Taza Blanton, Gwinnett County
- Jasmine Curry, Clarke County
- Mallory Fannin, Gwinnett County
- Mary Garrett, Pickens County
- Lindsay Griffin, Gwinnett County
- Emma Harper, Walton County
- Andrea Mason, Barrow County
- Lisa Moody, Gwinnett County
- Cassandra Moon, Franklin County
- Cheryl Moore, Richmond County
- Chantay Oaks, Richmond County
- Kianna Patrick, Gwinnett County
- Taylor Perdue, Jackson County
- Addie Pitts, Habersham County
- Katie Sellers, Jackson County
- Dieu Tran-Pearson, Walton County | Wilma Widmer Career Advancement Scholarship
- Marie Tshibula, Gwinnett County
- Jacob Watson, Oconee County, (SC)
- Julia West, Barrow County
- Sydney York, Hart County
In recognition of past and present board members and employees who have served Peach State for 20 years or more, Legacy Student Scholarships were awarded to the following high school seniors pursuing a college degree in any field.
- Isabella Chitwood, Hart County High School
- Sailor Ott, Stephens County High School
- Josephine Poston, Towns County High School
- Georgia Prince, Tallulah Falls School
- Margaret Robinson, North Gwinnett High School
Peach State FCU has long-standing roots within the education system. Its founding members were former educators of the Gwinnett County School System who believed in forming a credit union for the teachers of Gwinnett County.
The Annual Scholarship Program has awarded over $2.5 million since 2002.