News & Press

#PhilanthropyFriday: 2018 James F. Swift Scholarship Recipients

08.31.18

This year, over 130 scholarships were awarded through a variety of charitable funds at the Scranton Area Community Foundation. To date, our scholarships have helped thousands of our local students gain an education.

Since it’s back-to-school time, we thought it would only be appropriate to highlight our 2018 James F. Swift Scholarship Recipients this week…

Eighteen students from eleven different high schools in the area have been awarded a prestigious scholarship through the James F. Swift Scholarship Fund administered by the Scranton Area Community Foundation, which provides $4,000 per year for each recipient for up to four years.

The James F. Swift Scholarship Fund was created in 2002 by Mr. Swift through a gift to the Scranton Area Community Foundation to provide support for higher education for students graduating from high schools in Lackawanna County. Following Mr. Swift’s death in 2006, the Scranton Area Community Foundation gratefully received an unanticipated and significant gift from his estate to the scholarship fund which has allowed a great number of students from Lackawanna County the opportunity to pursue their academic and professional goals through higher education.

The scholarship aims to provide an ongoing stream of matriculation at Lackawanna County colleges and universities. It is the goal of the Scranton Area Community Foundation to award 75% of the scholarships to students who plan to attend institutions of higher learning in our area.

Scranton Area Community Foundation President & CEO Laura Ducceschi praised the generosity of James Swift, noting “he has left a permanent and enduring legacy for the young people of our region. His scholarship fund makes higher education more attainable for generations of students.”

The Scranton Area Community Foundation is a partner with Pennsylvania Higher Education Assistance Agency (PHEAA) in their Partnership for Access to Higher Education (PATH) Program to offer qualifying students additional financial aid. Through PHEAA, these scholarship recipients may be eligible for additional dollars toward their tuition.

For more information on the Scranton Area Community Foundation and the James F. Swift Scholarship Fund, or to establish a new Scholarship Fund, please contact Brittany Pagnotti, Communications Manager of the Scranton Area Community Foundation at 570-347-6203 or visit: http://www.safdn.org/scholarships/create-a-new-scholarship/

PHOTO:

Row one, left to right: Laura Ducceschi, President/CEO, Scranton Area Community Foundation; Rose Broderick, Chairman of the Board, Scranton Area Community Foundation; Tiffini Kalt; Colleen Noll; Stephanie Earle; Austin Glidewell; Jade Wehner; Karen Clifford, Scranton Area Community Foundation Scholarship Committee;Tom Donohue, Board of Governor, Scranton Area Community Foundation.

Row two, left to right: Natalie Sottile; Kaitlyn Savage; Brooke Mickavicz; Christina Carachilo; Marley Palmere.

Row three, left to right: Cathy Fitzpatrick, Grants Administrator, Scranton Area Community Foundation; Jake McGovern; Mark Melesky; Ryan Skapyak; Kody Fitzgerald; Jenna O’Malley.

2018 recipients missing from the photo: Daniel Jaggars, Rebecca Johnson, Ben Koshinski, Kelly Kraycer, Ximena Maldonado, Megan Purcell, Julia Romanovich, Gerardo Sanchez Garcia, Anna Van Wert.