LYNN — Stop the Violence awarded five $500 scholarships Wednesday to Lynn students attending college in the fall.
The five recipients are Emiliana Velazquez, a graduate of Lynn Vocational Technical Institute attending North Shore Community College; Antonio Flores and Sailor Brinkler, both graduates of Lynn Classical attending the University of Massachusetts – Lowell; and Carlos Prudencio and Damianny Garrido, graduates of Lynn English attending American University.
This is the first year Stop the Violence has awarded a scholarship, thanks to a $25,000 donation it received in March from the Curtis family.
Senior Executive Director of the Demakes Family YMCA Andrea C. Baez, also a member of Stop the Violence, said these scholarships will offer additional support for the students. With no restrictions, the recipients can use the money for books, tuition, supplies or anything they see fit.
“I think people forget that there are a lot of costs that coincide with getting ready for college,” Baez said. “Things you need to physically go to college are costly, so hopefully this will offset some of that for them.”
Because they received the $25,000 donation later in the year, the Stop the Violence committee chose the five recipients without an application process, but will implement an application process next year.
The nonprofit plans to work collaboratively with the district’s schools to send out applications, which include an essay and interview portion.
“This year, we picked kids that we know were doing impactful work in the community that we wanted to recognize,” Baez said.
All of the recipients said they are very excited and grateful for the scholarship and the extra support as they enter the next phase of their education.
“This is really going to help; I wasn’t expecting it and I am very grateful,” Flores said.
Stop the Violence member Rob Smith said “it is our esteemed pleasure to be able to support these young people in their secondary education with these scholarships.”
