By Philip Sean Curran, Staff Writer
The idea started 40 years ago with an employee at Princeton High School seeing a need to help low-income students pay for college.
Today, graduates of the high school can count on getting a help from an organization whose name might have changed but whose mission has not.
Known as “101:” the all-volunteer organization provides need-based scholarships to Princeton High School graduates. The scholarships, awarded in varying amounts up to a maximum four-year total of $10,000, help them pay tuition at four-year or two-year colleges or vocational schools. Last year, the organization gave almost $180,000 in all.
Pat Pannell-Edokwe, the current vice president of 101: on Friday called the work “really gratifying.” She said the organization helps on average 80 to 90 students a year, a figure that also includes Princeton High School graduates who are upperclassmen in college.
To hear the parent volunteers explain it, they make a point of dispelling the notion that needy families don’t exist in Princeton. The organization says it helps children who in some cases are the first in their families to go to college.
”There’s a perception that Princeton is a place where everyone’s s very comfortable, everyone has means,” said 101: board member Jess Deutsch. “The reality is that many members of our community are really struggling.”
Ms. Deutsch spoke in the basement at the Cannon Club on Prospect Avenue, the dining club at Princeton University that played host to the organization’s big annual fundraiser. As televisions played that night’s Flyers’ hockey game, guests started to come in for the college-themed event in which everyone had a college shirt or sweatshirt on. Organizers hoped to raise between $35,000 to $40,000.
101:, known as the Princeton Regional Scholarship Foundation until 2008, started small. Over time, it’s grown, and in recent years, it has seen an increase in applications. Organization president Riva Levy attributes that to students being more aware of 101:, which has sought to raise its profile with various events.
As part of applying for a scholarship, they have to supply family financial information, including tax forms, that the organization has the financial aid office at Princeton University analyze, to determine how much families can contribute financially.
The organization, which has a limited pool of money, makes clear the scholarship is not a handout but a hand up. Students have to obtain other financial aid, and are expected to contribute toward their education either through a summer job or work-study.
”So it’s not like we’re giving them money and they’re sitting down and not having to worry about anything,” Ms. Levy said. “They have to take responsibility over their life.”
She said 101: students go to prestigious colleges, including Princeton University and Oberlin College. University President Shirley M. Tilghman, actor John Lithgow, Rep. Rush Holt and others serve on the organization’s advisory board.
Once students are moving through their college careers, they must supply the organization with financial information to ensure they are still eligible for the scholarship as well as their report cards. Ms. Levey said a high percentage of those attending four-year-colleges wind up graduating.
Students will write to express their thanks. “They truly appreciate it,” said Ms. Levy of getting the help. To learn more, visit www.fund101.org.

