The 2027 Lilly Endowment Community Scholarship application is now available in Perry County through the Perry Community Foundation. The Lilly Endowment Community Scholarship Program (LECSP) will provide 147 scholarships statewide, including one in Perry County. LECSP scholarships may be used for otherwise unreimbursed full tuition, required fees, and a special allocation of up to $900 per year. The special allocation may cover the costs of required books and equipment for four years of full-time undergraduate study, leading to a baccalaureate degree at any eligible Indiana public or private nonprofit college or university. The program, administered statewide by Independent Colleges of Indiana (ICI) and locally in Perry County through the Perry Community Foundation, is open to all Indiana residents who: Graduate from an accredited Indiana high school by 2027 and receive their diploma no later than June 30, 2027 Intend to pursue a full-time baccalaureate course of study at an eligible college or university in Indiana Meet the criteria specific to their local community foundation. Visit the Perry County Lilly Endowment Community Scholarship page for complete information regarding the Perry County application criteria and to apply. Applications must be completed and submitted by Friday, August 14, to be considered. Applications will be evaluated on, but not limited to, the following criteria: academic performance, school and community activities, leadership roles in activities, essays, special circumstances, and interview. Three finalists will be nominated by the Perry Community Foundation, and their names will be submitted to ICI for final selection of the recipients. The scholarship recipient will be notified in December. Lilly Endowment created LECSP for the 1997-98 school year and has supported the program every year since with tuition grants totaling more than $505 million. More than 5,400 Indiana students have received Lilly Endowment Community Scholarships since the program’s inception. The primary purposes of LECSP are: 1) to help raise the level of educational attainment in Indiana; 2) to increase awareness of the beneficial roles Indiana community foundations can play in their communities; and 3) to encourage and support the efforts of current and past Lilly Endowment Community Scholars to engage with each other and with Indiana business, governmental, educational, nonprofit and civic leaders to improve the quality of life in Indiana generally and in local communities throughout the state. The Community Foundation of Southwest Indiana is again pleased to offer LECSP for its 30th year in Perry County. “We encourage all eligible high school seniors to apply. The Lilly Endowment Community Scholarship Program is a life-changing opportunity, and we’re here to support students through every step of the process,” said Melinda Waldroup, Chief Program Officer.

This spring, the Perry County Community Foundation awarded $64,680 in scholarships to 22 local students through its Community Scholarship Program. These scholarships are funded by generous donors who have established scholarship funds with the Perry County Community Foundation. This year’s recipients were celebrated and recognized at the Rise & Shine Scholars event in April with fund founders, recipients, and parents. Congratulations to the Community Scholarship Program recipients! Birch and Ruth Shafer Scholarship: Ally Franchville, Tell City High School Justin French, Perry Central High School Andrew Noble, Tell City High School Mackenzie Straneva, Tell City High School Buehler Foods Scholarship: Charles Guillaume, Perry Central High School Cecil and Olive Foster Scholarship: Gloria Sommer, Perry Central High School Charles S. (Blackie) and Rose H. Paulin Scholarship: Summer Guillaume, Perry Central High School Earl and Hazel Etienne Scholarship : Gloria Sommer, Perry Central High School Edgar and Evelyn Whitcomb Scholarship : Summer Guillaume, Perry Central High School Gene and Christina Schwindel Scholarship : Tyler Kleaving, Perry Central High School Harriet and Don Neill “Perry County Values” Scholarship : Tila Jones, Perry Central High School J. Matthew Moore Memorial Scholarship : Brianna Evans, Cannelton Jr. Sr. High School Jamon L. Burchett Memorial Scholarship : Joseph Cunningham, Perry Central High School Joe and Golda Aders Perry Central HS Scholarship : Charles Guillaume, Perry Central High School John Marion Walker Scholarship : Charles Guillaume, Perry Central High School John Williams Memorial Scholarship: Joseph Cunningham, Perry Central High School Loren and Bernice Lanman Scholarship : Loren and Bernice Lanman Scholarship : Claire Daugherty, Tell City High School Gage Garrett, Cannelton Jr. Sr. High School Taylor Hagman, Perry Central High School Mark "Flash" Kleeman Memorial Scholarship : Joseph Cunningham, Perry Central High School Mildred Wempe Memorial Scholarship 1: Lance Kern, Perry Central High School Mildred Wempe Memorial Scholarship 2: Lexi Lain, Tell City High School Old National Tell City Scholarship: Tyler Kleaving, Perry Central High School Perry County 4-H Scholarship : Tyler Kleaving, Perry Central High School Perry County FOP Scholarship : Payton Moskos, Tell City High School Robert E. Boyles Scholarship : Brianna Evans, Cannelton Jr. Sr. High School Robert Ress Memorial Scholarship : Lucas Cail, Tell City High School Rose Hazel Gabbert Paulin and Charles S. (Blackie) Paulin Scholarship : Tyler Kleaving, Perry Central High School Sam K. Oberhausen Memorial Scholarship : Aaron Hilgenhold, Tell City High School Sam Reed Scholarship : Myah Cummings, Perry Central High School Stacey Peak Memorial Scholarship : Alexis Fulton, Tell City High School Wendell Werner and Loretta Werner Scholarship : Ross Morgan, Tell City High School William J. Schergens Music Scholarship : Tyler Kleaving, Perry Central High School York Family Scholarship : Summer Guillaume, Perry Central High School Zachary Kleemann Memorial Scholarship : Aaron Hilgenhold, Tell City High School