Island Community Church recently announced the awarding of $20,000 in college scholarships to students in the Middle and Upper Keys. The scholarships are funded by proceeds of the 2020 Island Boat Show. During the recent graduation events for Marathon and Coral Shores High Schools, the names of more than 20 students were announced as recipients of the Island Community Church Scholarship. The individual awards, ranging from $500 to $1,500, will assist students in their pursuit of a college education in the upcoming academic year.
It is the first of what Island Community Church envisions as an ongoing scholarship program funded by the Island Boat Show, which is the largest in-water boat show in the Keys. With more than 90 boats, exhibitor booths, fishing seminars and a silent auction, the 2020 show at Hawks Cay was the most successful so far. “We were blessed by the financial success of this year’s boat show,” said Pastor Trevor Mann. “We are using those funds to give back to our community through our ministries and initiatives. None is more important than investing in the future of our youth through the Island Community Church Scholarship.”
To qualify for the scholarship, the applicants completed an application and took part in a virtual interview with the scholarship review team. Island Community Church pastor emeritus and review team member Tony Hammon observed, “It was such a pleasure getting to know the candidates. All were so engaging and showed such promise. I wish we could have awarded even more. From what I can tell from our interviews, the future is in very capable hands.”
The church intends to offer the scholarships in 2021 and again will use the Island Boat Show as the primary source of funding. “The 2021 show, scheduled for Jan. 22-24 at Hawks Cay, should be bigger and better than past years,” said Island Boat Show chair Glenn Latham. “We hope to raise even more for scholarships and get some outside matching funds as well, so we’ll be able to award more next year.”Island Community Church offers a worship service at 10 a.m. every Sunday morning at 83250 Overseas Hwy or online (Facebook or YouTube). More information is at www.islandcommunitychurch.org. More information about the Island Boat Show is at www.islandboatshow.com or by contacting the church at churchinfo@islandcommunitychurch.org.
