TYNDALL AIR FORCE BASE, Fla. -- The Tyndall Spouses Club is currently accepting scholarship applications for the 2020-2021 school year.
Those eligible to apply include military spouses and dependents graduating high school.
“We are offering $10,000 in scholarships to dependents and spouses of military members in the local area,” said Julie Dodge, Tyndall Spouses Club president.
The scholarships are funded by proceeds retained from the Tyndall Thrift Shop, which has been closed since Hurricane Michael.
“The scholarships are funded from what we have left over from the thrift store,” said Dodge. “We are financially frugal with our money and we had some money in savings and we split that up so that we can [continue to] do scholarships.”
The scholarships provide recipients with funds to pursue higher education, and also allows the Tyndall Spouses Club an opportunity to give back to the base community.
Obtaining scholarships to help with higher education can oftentimes be challenging because of how frequently military families have to move, according to Dodge.
“I think it’s important for the spouses club to give back through these scholarships because we understand how difficult it is.”
Those interested in receiving a scholarship need to fill out an application, which includes an essay based on the topic “What has your experiences as a military dependent taught you that you could not learn in a book?”
Applications must be postmarked by March 6, 2020 and will be evaluated by various judges including teachers, administrators, and military members.
“We mask the applications, go through them and make sure that all the information that we require is there, and then we send them off to the different judges,” said Dodge.
Scholarships will be awarded in April 2020.
To obtain an application or to find out more information, visit https://www.tyndallsc.org/ or e-mail tyndall.scholarships@gmail.com.