Lima Rotary Club scholarship are making a difference in the lives of recipients.
JJ Truman was the recipient of Lima Rotary Club scholarships in 2015 and 2016. She told us that the financial help she received from Rotary and other grants was invaluable. "I was broke. I was broke broke. At the same time I started college, our oldest daughter started college, and there was a financial need. Buying books, feeding my kids, all of these things played into factor." To make things more difficult, seven months after beginning school, she was diagnosed with breast cancer. JJ told us that being able to focus on school helped her get through this trying time. JJ is now a psychiatric mental health nurse practitioner at Lima Memorial Next Chapter Mental Health. She is proud that she is able to help approximately 100 patients per week with their problems. She knows it is important to give back to the community and help others the way she was helped. She has done this by joining Rotary, taking additional training to assist people cope with traumatic incidents, and volunteering at the Red Cross where she can put her skills to use.
The Lima Rotary Club presents quarterly scholarships to non-traditional students, those who are returning to school later in life. Since 2001, we have awarded more than $1 million in scholarships. The Rex Perry Memorial Golf Outing is the scholarship fund's major fundraiser each year. Many members also choose to make donations to the fund when they pay their quarterly invoices. As we saw from JJ's presentation, our donations truly make a difference in the lives of our families, friends and neighbors.