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All Crater grads may get money for college By Vicki Guarino of the Mail Tribune CENTRAL POINT -- Honor students and average students, science aces and artists -- any Crater High School graduate who wants a scholarship should get one, according to the community's awards foundation. So the Crater Foundation has launched a fund-raising campaign to guarantee scholarships for all. It would be one of the most ambitious scholarship programs around. "I think this is really unique," says foundation volunteer Diana McFarland, Central Point. "We'll look at kids who aren't the straight-A students." A couple of smaller Oregon school districts, including Butte Falls, offer financial aid to all students who are continuing their education beyond high school. But Crater Foundation and school officials say they know of no such program in a school as large as Crater. Crater has 1,500 students, with 373 in the senior class. "I think it's wonderful," says Crater Principal Ron Williams. "It shows a lot of pride in the students." Once the graduates are in college, they can return to the foundation board for more money to continue studies. Foundation board members about five years ago set the goal of helping all students who ask by the year 2000, says board member Robin Reames, Central Point. The foundation organized in 1992, after parents donated $4,000 for a community scholarship in memory of their daughter, a Crater graduate who died in the Air Force. The foundation has grown with donations and private requests for scholarship programs. Reames, for example, made a donation to establish within the foundation a scholarship in memory of her grandmother, who loved studying plants. An award goes annually to a young woman interested in studying botany. Over the years, Reames says, the foundation has become an umbrella organization administering numerous local scholarship programs and some $400,000 in assets. The decision to help all students grew from foundation board members' concern that deserving youngsters weren't getting funds because they didn't fit into the two main scholarship categories. They didn't have high grades and they didn't have severe financial need. Besides, scholarship officials hope that by promising financial aid, more students will plan on continuing their education and push themselves harder to do well in high school. Last year the foundation came close to meeting its year 2000 goal, says Reames. After distributing 112 scholarships, only 12 students were turned away. Scholarships generally range from $750 to $2,000-$4,000. This year, with a slightly smaller senior class and more money, foundation volunteers are optimistic about hitting the mark. The foundation's major fund-raiser, a dessert auction, will be 6:30-9:30 p.m. Dec. 4 in Crater's student center. Auction items this year include a trip to Disneyland and a weekend in Portland at the Benson Hotel. For information about donating items or attending the event, call Gigi Orr, 664-1357, or Toni Drew, 664-5568. Last year the event raised $12,000. This year, with more auction items and a larger guest list, organizers are hoping to raise $15,000-$20,000. Mail Tribune Copyright � The Mail Tribune 1999, Medford, Oregon USA