The Pioneer Fund has established a scholarship program to assist eligible current and former amateur and professional ice skaters who dedicated their lives to skating and now wish to pursue a college education. Scholarships are offered each year for full-time undergraduate study at an accredited institution of the student’s choice.
The Pioneer Fund is a foundation of the late Helen M. McLoraine. Helen established The Pioneer Fund, a private family foundation, in the 1960s, to continue her life long tradition of support to the types of projects and organizations to which she had contributed throughout her lifetime and now through her estate. Helen, deeply influenced by her mother’s dedication to philanthropy, became a generous benefactor to others with a focus on figure skating, higher education assistance, and medical research. Helen was a private person, frugal, kind and smart, who felt a serious responsibility to the community.
Although Helen continued to run her own private successful investment business throughout her lifetime, her most cherished pastime was the sport of figure skating and attended many competitions, events, and ice shows throughout the World each year. The door to Helen’s apartment, which originally opened inward the way that most doors do, was changed to open out to the world. This was indicative of the way Helen embraced life and invited others to do the same. Helen passed away in January of 2003 doing one of the many things she enjoyed in life, watching young kids in figure skating rinks working to achieve their dreams.
This scholarship program is administered by Scholarship Management Services, a division of Scholarship America. Scholarship Management Services is the nation’s largest designer and manager of scholarship and tuition reimbursement programs for corporations, foundations, associations and individuals. Awards are granted without regard to race, color, creed, religion, sexual orientation, age, gender, disability or national origin.
Postmark deadline: February 18, 2012 application and details at http://sms.scholarshipamerica.org/pioneerfund/index.html
