Dear Alumni, Family, & Friends:
The Central NJ Chapter of the Penn State Alumni Association was re-established in the summer of 2007. I've had the pleasure and privilege of being a part of the re-building of the chapter as the Membership Chair, Vice President and President. Our chapter has grown significantly over the past 3 years, we are close to 200 strong dues paying members and last year received a Chapter of Distinction Award.
As we re-established the Chapter, we discovered the previous Chapter had a scholarship fund for Central NJ incoming freshman. We awarded two scholarships at last year's Freshman Send-off worth $1,400 each. This year we will be awarding one $1,500 scholarship at our Freshman Send-off.
Due to the tough economic times and the cost of out of state tuition for Penn State ($25K plus room & board), the Chapter Board and I feel we can do more to support the students in Central NJ.
Recently, Roger Williams, Executive Director of the Penn State Alumni Association, asked for our chapter to commit to increasing the book value of our chapter scholarship in conjunction with the Alumni Association's fundraising effort: For the Future: The Campaign for Penn State Students. We have committed to increase our chapter scholarship book value from $22K to $50K by June 2014, but want to far exceed that goal. All monies for the scholarship stay in Central NJ. We need to raise $7K each year and we need your help. We are 10,000 strong in Central NJ.
If each Alumnus in the Area donated just $0.70 (per year), we would very easily achieve our goal. In order to far exceed that goal, we are asking that everyone who reads this article show their Penn State Pride and donate at least $5 or $10 to the scholarship fund. Our chapter is a 501 (c) 3 non-profit, so all donations to our scholarship fund are tax deductible.
We have already established a few ways for you to contribute to our Chapter Scholarship Fund:
- Click on the PayPal links in the CNJ Roar (monthly e-newsletter) to donate immediately ($5, $20, $50 or $100).
- Send a check to The Central NJ Penn State Alumni Association (please write "scholarship" in the memo section): 216 Andover Place, Robbinsville, NJ 08691.
- Become a Sponsor and Advertise on our Chapter Website, CNJ Roar & Facebook. Full year advertisers will receive special recognition at our Freshman Send-off.
Tom Higgins ('91 Finance), our Treasurer, will be heading up the campaign. If you are interested in assisting or have ideas please send him an email at: Treasurer@pennstatecnj.com.
As Alumni, this is a great opportunity for us to support the University's mission of service by giving back to our Central NJ community. Thank you in advance for your support.
For the Glory,
Katie Dunn
President
1991 Marketing