The board of directors of the Alle-Kiski Society, the local organization of the Penn State Alumni Association, approved at its Nov. 14 meeting a $5,000 donation to its campus scholarship. The funds were raised from the proceeds of the annual alumni golf scramble held Sept. 23 at The Links at Spring Church. The donation increases the principle of the Alle-Kiski Society Endowed Scholarship to $45,000. The society's scholarship was founded in 1992 and officially was endowed in 1997 with $15,000. The first award was a $500 scholarship to Pat Neal in 1998. This year the society awarded $1,000 scholarships to Shirley Betush, Melissa Franklin and Danica Myers. In eight years, the society has awarded $16,000 to 28 students and the endowment principle has tripled from $15,000 to $45,000.
In addition to holding a golf tournament to fund its scholarship, the society sponsors a bowlathon in the spring which funds a variety of campus projects. This year, the Alle-Kiski Society has funded a variety of campus projects including: $500 for equipment for the new communications lab; $1,500 for homecoming weekend activities; $500 for the alumni newsletter; and $200 for the half-court shot during men's and women's basketball games at the Field House. A student won the first $200 at the first game of the season. Other society-sponsored projects are the semi-annual alumni breakfasts, alumni newsletter, alumni and student awards, community service activities and Student Government Association events.
Based at the New Kensington campus, the society represents more than 5,000 alumni living in the Alle-Kiski Valley. Meetings are held at 7 p.m. the second Monday of every month in the campus Conference Center. The meetings are open to all alumni, students, parents and friends.
For more information, call (724) 334-6049 or visit Ask AKS at http://ask.psu.edu/aks.html online. For more about the Alle-Kiski Society, visit http://www.nk.psu.edu/Alumni/alumorg.htm?cn613 and for more about giving to scholarships at the campus, visit http://www.nk.psu.edu/Giving/givescholarships.htm?cn6312 online.