By Joanne Degnan, Managing Editor
ALLENTOWN — Five area high school seniors with impressive community service records received a total $4,000 in college scholarships from the local Give Back Foundation which deemed them most likely to pay it forward.
The Allentown-based nonprofit that gives a hand to area families in need decided to also hand out scholarships for the first time this year to local students who have already demonstrated a commitment to their communities and their desire to continue serving others after earning their college degrees.
”The lesson of giving back is an important one,” says Ron Dunster, the 71-year old co-founder of the 501(c)(3) organization, which currently serves 17 needy families in the Allentown, Upper Freehold, Millstone and Plumsted area.
”You change somebody’s life and then, when they are able to, they go out and help somebody else,” Mr. Dunster said, describing the foundation’s mission.
The foundation awarded scholarships ranging from $500 to $1,000 to three students from Allentown High School and two students from New Egypt High School who were selected based on the extent of their service activities throughout high school and the essays they wrote about those community service experiences. The students’ commitment to giving back was the main criteria, not financial need.
”These kids are exceptional in what they’ve done already for their communities while still in school and all of them have got it in their minds to come back after college and continue to contribute to their town,” Mr. Dunster said.
”And why shouldn’t they come back and get into local government, work in the school system or run a business here?” Mr. Dunster asks.
At the Allentown High School awards ceremony last month, Brian Cullinane, of Millstone, won a $1,000 scholarship and twin sisters Morgan and Amanda Silverblatt, of Upper Freehold, each won $500 scholarships from the foundation.
Brian, an Eagle Scout, will major in psychology and deaf studies at Towson University next year, Mr. Dunster said. The Silverblatt sisters will also attend Towson, with Amanda majoring in social work and Morgan majoring in education.
At New Egypt High School in Plumsted, the winners of two $1,000 scholarships were Cassandra Rose Hinderlider and Erica McCabe. Erica will also major in psychology at Towson and Cassandra will commute to Georgian Court University in Lakewood, where she will study to become a social worker, he said.
Mr. Dunster says the scholarships are in keeping with the charity’s mission of helping people with the hope that they pay it forward in the future by helping someone else. Encouraging and instilling the ideals of community service in young people goes hand-in-hand with that mission, he said.
Since the Give Back Foundation was founded in 2005 it has raised $500,000 that it has distributed to local families in financial distress due to life-altering circumstances such as the loss of a job or a serious illness, Mr. Dunster said.
While people who donate to national charities often don’t know how their money is being distributed, every dollar donated to the Give Back Foundation goes to helping a local neighbor in need, Mr. Dunster said. The foundation will drop off groceries, provide specialized medical equipment or help pay overdue utility bills for families in financial distress.
The “food pantry” donations are stored in Mr. Dunster’s South Main Street home and the groceries are delivered to the families to ensure the assistance remains confidential.
”Sometimes families don’t want to be seen standing on line waiting for a bag of groceries at a food pantry,” Mr. Dunster said. “People talk; people can be gabby.”
Most of the time, the families being helped by the Give Back Foundation are able to eventually turn their situations around, Mr. Dunster said.
”They regain their health, they get that second job, whatever it takes to change their lives,” Mr. Dunster said “The true success story is when you get the call from them saying, “We don’t need your help anymore so tell me how can we help someone else.’”
The Give Back Foundation’s volunteer meetings are held monthly and donations of food, gift cards and money are always appreciated. Contact Ron Dunster at 609-259-3551 for more information.
