2015 BLET Scholarship Directory
http://www.ble-t.org/pr/news/newsflash.asp?id=5682
CLEVELAND, February 13 — Each year, the BLET National Division compiles a
list of scholarship opportunities available to the children of BLET
members. Numerous financial aid opportunities are published here in the
2015 BLET Scholarship Directory.
The scholarship opportunities vary widely. The following comprehensive
list provides members and their families with contact information for each
scholarship program. The BLET National Division does not maintain its own
scholarship program, so interested parties are advised to contact the
individual scholarship providers listed below for additional information.
Those aware of additional scholarship opportunities not included in this
Directory are urged to contact the BLET Public Relations Department at:
Bentley@ble-t.org.
The 2014 BLET Scholarship Directory is as follows:
James R. Hoffa Memorial Scholarship
The James R. Hoffa Memorial Scholarship Fund awards scholarships annually
to outstanding high school seniors. The deadline for this year’s program
is March 31, 2015.
Recipients are selected by an impartial committee of university admissions
and financial aid directors based on academic achievement, SAT/ACT scores,
character, potential and financial need. The Teamsters consider all
applicants without regard to race, religion, gender, disability, or any
other legally protected status.
One category of awards totals $10,000 each. These four-year scholarships
are disbursed at the rate of $2,500 per year and are renewable annually.
Other awards are one-time $1,000 grants. These scholarships are disbursed
to the college or university at the beginning of the recipient’s freshman
year.
Due to the highly competitive nature of the program and the large number
of applicants, students should visit the Teamster website and carefully
consider the criteria before submitting an application. The JRH
Scholarship Fund has established some guidelines to be used by students
when deciding whether or not to apply for this program. Applicants should:
1. Rank in the top 15 percent of their high school class; 2. Have, or
expect to have, excellent SAT or ACT scores; and 3. Demonstrate financial
need.
A full list of specific eligibility requirements can be found on the
Teamster website (http://teamster.org/benefits/jrh-scholarship).
If you need additional assistance, please contact:
James R. Hoffa Memorial Scholarship Fund
25 Louisiana Avenue, NW
Washington, DC 20001
Phone: (202) 624-8735
Email: scholarship@teamster.org.
• • •
BLET Auxiliary and International Western Convention (IWC) Scholarships
The BLET Auxiliary and the International Western Convention (IWC) offer
$1,000 scholarships annually to help the children of BLET and Auxiliary
members realize their goals in life.
There is some good news for those applying for a BLET Auxiliary
Scholarship this year. Beginning in 2015, the requirement of Auxiliary
membership has been reduced from two years to just one year in order for
their children to qualify for a BLET Auxiliary scholarship. Under the new
guidelines, applicants must have one parent who has been a member of the
BLET Auxiliary for at least one year, and the other parent must be a
member of the BLET for at least one year. Children of unmarried BLET
members with at least one year of membership in the BLET and at least one
year of membership as an associate member of the BLET Auxiliary are also
eligible.
The BLET Auxiliary also administers the scholarship program for the
International Western Convention (IWC). Scholarships ($1,000) are
available for the children, stepchildren, and grandchildren of BLET
members whose Division is a member in good standing of the IWC. The BLET
divisions that are eligible to participate in the IWC are located in the
following states: Arizona, California, Colorado, Idaho, Montana,
Illinois, Nevada, New Mexico, North Dakota, Oregon, Utah, Washington,
Wisconsin, and Wyoming. Auxiliary membership is not a requirement to apply
for an IWC scholarship. In some cases applicants may qualify for both the
BLET Auxiliary Scholarship Program and the IWC Scholarship Program.
In order to qualify for either scholarship program, an applicant must be
accepted or enrolled in an accredited university, college, or institution
of higher learning. Recipients are chosen on the basis of academic record,
leadership, character, and personal achievement. If the applicant is a
graduate student or returning to college as a sophomore, junior, or
senior, he or she must have a 3.0 grade point average or better to be
considered.
Scholarship applications must be received by April 1, 2015, in order to be
accepted. Late applications will not be considered. These requirements
apply to both the BLET Auxiliary scholarships and the IWC scholarships.
Application forms with detailed instructions attached are available for
download at: http://www.bletauxiliary.net. Applicants must carefully
follow all instructions in order to ensure that the application will
qualify for acceptance and consideration by the BLET Auxiliary Scholarship
Committee.
Mail completed forms to:
Lawana Poss
BLET Auxiliary National Secretary
1394 Bywood Court
Suwanee, GA 30024
• • •
Eastern Union Meeting Association (EUMA)
The Eastern Union Meeting Association awards several scholarships each
year, ranging in value from $1,000 to $2,000, including memorial
scholarships honoring the memories and accomplishments of Brothers Robert
F. Donoghue, Robert W. Godwin and Robert T. Pentland. The scholarships are
awarded based on academic excellence and financial need. Only children of
BLET members (living or deceased) belonging to divisions participating in
the EUMA are eligible to apply. Division must be square on the books for
the child to qualify. States represented in EUMA are Connecticut,
Delaware, Illinois, Indiana, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, New
Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Vermont, Washington
D.C., and West Virginia.
The 2015 EUMA scholarship application and dues deadline is July 7, 2015.
Send completed applications to: Pat Driscoll, EUMA Secretary-Treasurer,
Conrail SAA/CSXT Northern District, GCA, 2852 Delaware Ave., Suite #200,
Kenmore, NY 14217. For more details, contact Brother Driscoll at: (716)
876-2303 or driscollblet1@verizon.net.
Applications are available on the BLET website:
http://www.ble-t.org/pr/pdf/EUMA_Scholarship_App_0113.pdf
• • •
Southwestern Convention Meeting (SWCM)
The Southwestern Convention Meeting (SWCM) awards approximately three
dozen scholarships annually based on academic achievement and financial
need, granting 34 awards in 2014 totaling $28,500.
Applicants must be the child of an active, retired or deceased BLET member
whose division belongs to the Southwestern Convention Meeting. Applicants
must be accepted for admission to an accredited college, university or
institution of higher learning. Only divisions belonging to the SWCM are
eligible.
SWCM application forms can be filled out on your computer screen with the
interactive PDF form available on the BLET website. Deadline is August 1,
2015. The 2015 convention begins on September 13, and Divisions must have
paid their annual SWCM convention dues for applicants from their Division
to be eligible. For more information, please visit the SWCM website:
http://bletswcm.org/swcm-scholarships.html
The SWCM Scholarship Committee provides two application forms — one for
incoming freshmen and one for current college students. Be sure to use the
correct form when applying as incorrect applications will not be accepted.
Download application instructions here:
http://www.ble-t.org/pr/swcmsch.asp
Application form for incoming freshmen (here):
http://www.ble-t.org/pr/pdf/2015_incoming_freshman_app.pdf
Application form for current college students (here):
http://www.ble-t.org/pr/pdf/2015_college_student_app.pdf
• • •
Southeastern Meeting Association (SMA)
The Southeastern Meeting Association (SMA) Scholarship Committee awards
Geiger-Brendle Scholarships each year to the children of active or retired
BLET members whose divisions participate in the SMA.
Please check with your division Secretary-Treasurer to ensure that your
division participates. In general, the SMA includes divisions located in
states east of the Mississippi River, and south of the Ohio River and the
Mason-Dixon Line. Also, Divisions must be current with their SMA dues in
order for the applicant to be eligible. No fax or electronic copies of the
application will be accepted.
SMA scholarship winners are usually selected and announced at the SMA’s
annual business meeting held during the convention. This year’s SMA will
be June 14-19 in Atlanta, Ga. Please see your division officers for an
application or for more details. Deadline this year is June 1, 2015.
Application forms are available here:
http://www.ble-t.org/pr/pdf/sma_2015_scholarship_app.pdf
• • •
California State Legislative Board
The BLET’s CSLB will again be awarding a scholarship to a graduating high
school senior who will attend college/ trade/ vocational school in 2015.
The applicant’s parent or guardian must be a member in good standing in a
BLET division represented by CSLB.
Last year, the Board awarded a $1,000 scholarship. Rules, applications and
deadline information are available on the Board’s website:
http://www.cslb.ws. The deadline is May 1, 2015.
All applications should be mailed to the CSLB home office address:
California State Legislative Board, BLET/IBT, 610 Auburn Ravine Rd., Suite
C, Auburn, CA 95603.
• • •
Illinois State Legislative Board
The BLET’s Illinois State Legislative Board is currently accepting
applications for its Don Little Memorial Scholarship Fund, which was
established in 2013.
One $1,000 and two $500 scholarships will be awarded to applicants whose
parent or guardian is a BLET member in good standing with a BLET Local
Division represented by the Illinois State Legislative Board. Applicants
must be 26 years of age or younger.
Brother Don Little was a locomotive engineer with Metra commuter rail in
Chicago and a proud member of BLET Division 294 (Bensenville, Ill.) for 35
years. Brother Little served for more than 10 years on the Executive
Committee of the Illinois State Legislative Board and always had a dream
of establishing a scholarship program for the family members of fellow
Brothers and Sisters who worked in Illinois. Unfortunately, Brother Little
passed away before his dream was realized.
In 2013, Paul Piekarski (Chairman of the Illinois State Legislative
Board), Timothy Dunn (former Secretary-Treasurer of the Board), and
several others helped make Brother Little’s dream a reality.
Scholarship applications and all accompanying documents must be received
by May 31, 2015. Specific eligibility requirements, detailed instructions
and application forms are available for download from the BLET National
Division website (PDF,
http://www.ble-t.org/pr/pdf/Illinois_SLB_Scholarship_2015.pdf).
For questions or assistance in completing the application, contact Joyce
A. Piekarski, Administrative Secretary, at (630) 963-6099 or
Joyce.Piekarski@gmail.com.
• • •
Wyoming State Legislative Board
The BLET’s Wyoming State Legislative Board (WYSLB) is again offering a
scholarship program for the upcoming school year. First offered for the
2014 academic year, the scholarship deadline for 2015 is June 1, 2015.
Wyoming State Legislative Board Chairman Cory Runion said the Board will
award either two $1,000 scholarships, or, in the event of a single
applicant, one $1,000 scholarship each year to an im8mediate family member
of a BLET member in good standing and holding membership in a Division
chartered within the state of Wyoming. The scholarships will be awarded
based on the application, along with the requested documentation, by the
WYSLB scholarship committee.
Scholarship applications and all accompanying documents must be received
by June 1 of each year. Specific eligibility requirements, detailed
instructions and application forms (PDF) are available for download from
the BLET National Division website, or can be requested from your Division
Legislative Representative. Currently, the BLET has nine Divisions
chartered in Wyoming — Division 31 (Bill); Division 207 (Casper);
Divisions 44, 103 and 115 (Cheyenne); Division 94 (Gillette); Division 869
(Greybull); Division 142 (Rawlins); and Division 624 (Sheridan).
For questions of assistance in completing the application please contact
your Division Legislative Representative.
Information and application form available here:
http://www.ble-t.org/pr/pdf/Wyo_SLB_Scholarship_App.pdf
• • •
BLET Division 269
BLET Division 269 (Jamaica, Long Island, N.Y.) offers two $500
scholarships to the children of BLET members who are already enrolled in
college. Participation is limited to members of Division 269 only.
Winners are picked at random at the division’s Christmas party. For
details, watch your Division 269 website (http://www.blet269.com) or
contact Division President John A. Kavanaugh Jr. at (631) 813-2234.
• • •
BLET Division 622
BLET Division 622 (Alliance, Neb.) will award two $500 scholarships in
2015. Only the children of Division 622 members are eligible to apply.
Scholarship winners will be chosen at random during a Division meeting in
August. Applications must be received by July 31, 2015. For more
specifics, please visit the Division 622 website and click on
“scholarships:” http://www.blet622.com. Application and instructions are
also available from the National Division website:
http://www.ble-t.org/pr/pdf/Div_622_Scholarship_App_2015.pdf.
• • •
BR&CF Scholarship Program
The Brotherhood’s Relief and Compensation Fund (BR&CF) is pleased to
provide opportunities for the sons and daughters of BR&CF members to
participate in the Luther G. Smith Scholarship Program.
Children, including adopted and step-children, of BR&CF members who are in
“Good and Regular Standing,” are eligible. Applicants must be 27 years of
age or younger. Applicants may be current high school students who have
applied for admission as full-time students in accredited post-secondary
schools or may be attending or enrolled as full-time students in
accredited post-secondary schools.
International President J. M. Robb advises that 20 scholarships of $1,000
each are awarded every year.
The BR&CF’s 2015 scholarship program commenced on October 1, 2014, with
applications due on March 2, 2015. The 2016 program begins October 1,
2015, with a deadline of March 1, 2016.
BR&CF members with questions may contact Linda Garber at (800) 233-7080.
Members may obtain an application form by calling or writing to 2150
Linglestown Road, Harrisburg, PA 17110 or emailing brcf@brcf.org.
• • •
Union Plus Scholarships
Union Plus awarded 116 students a total of $150,000 in scholarships
(ranging from $500 to $4,000) in the 2014 Union Plus Scholarship Program.
The deadline is January 31 each year.
Rising education costs are making it difficult for many union families to
afford the cost of tuition. That’s one reason Union Plus, which provides
important consumer benefits to union members and retirees, offers a unique
scholarship program that in just over two decades has awarded over $3.6
million in education funding to more than 2,400 union members, spouses and
dependent children. Recipients are selected based on academic ability,
social awareness, financial need and appreciation of labor.
In addition to the scholarships, Union Plus offers discounts of 15 to 60
percent on college and graduate school test preparation courses from The
Princeton Review. Discounts are available for classroom, online and
private tutoring for the SAT, ACT, GMAT, LSAT, GRE and MCAT as well as
college affordability and admissions online courses. Free online practice
tests are also available. Visit http://UnionPlus.org/CollegePrep or call
(888) 243-7737.
Visit the Union Plus website
(http://www.unionplus.org/college-education-financing/union-plus-scholarship)
to learn more and apply for the scholarship program.