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HMB Odd Fellows Maintain Steadfast Commitment to Help Overlooked College-Bound Students

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SCHOLARSHIP.

Scholarships ~ A Steadfast Commitment

The Odd Fellows are dedicated to the philosophy that an educated society
is essential to a healthy community. That’s why we host the concerts
and public events that you have enjoyed over the years at the Odd
Fellows Hall in Half Moon Bay.

When you make donations at our events, your dollars directly support our
Scholarship Program [https://hmb-odd.org/about/scholarships], which for
decades has helped locals who otherwise may have been denied
post-secondary educational opportunities.

Help Us Help Others

Coastside youth are depending on us to meet their educational goals in
2021 and beyond.

We’re hoping to quickly raise $10,000 to retain five scholarships.
Without these additional funds, we will have to cut our programs by half
at a time when they are needed more than ever.

 

Photo from 2019.

DONATE NOW

 

Hit by the Pandemic

Sadly, the fundraising activities that you’ve come to love — musical
concerts, guest speakers, dance nights, film showings, and a very
popular clothing swap — didn’t happen in 2020 due to the Pandemic.
As a result, we were unable to raise the funds needed to support our
Youth Scholarship Program.

Your Dollars Go a Long Way

We support the Industrial Arts program at Half Moon Bay High School by
paying materials fees for students unable to meet that obligation.

We award scholarship money to graduating Half Moon Bay High School
Seniors in need.

We support programs at Pilarcitos Continuation School and provide
scholarships to Pilarcitos graduates.

We provide funds for Coastside youth at Puente de la Costa Sur in
Pescadero, and award scholarships to graduating seniors at Pescadero
High School.

 

Susan Brennan with check

We Lookout for the Overlooked

We recognize that preparing for today’s evolving job market doesn’t
always mean pursuing a four-year degree at a college or university. We
love to support students who choose technical and trade schools.

When deciding who to support, we strive to help students who face
difficulties due to divorce, death of a family member, deportation or
chronic disease. Scholarship candidates need to show initiative, steady
improvement in grades, and have post-secondary-school educational goals.

 

recipients

YOU ARE THE FORCE FOR GOOD!

Your donation, large or small, to our Scholarship Fund supports the Odd
Fellows’ mission to improve and elevate everyone. Together we can make
burdens lighter, relieve the darkness of despair, and be a force for
good in our community.

DONATE NOW

With thanks,
Susan E. Brennan
Chair, Youth Services Committee

 

 

Half Moon Bay Odd Fellows Scholarships

Apply for an Odd Fellows Scholarship

The Half Moon Bay Odd Fellows Lodge #143 is offering scholarships for students wishing to further their education after graduation from High School.

To be eligible for consideration, you must be:

  1. a resident of the Coastside Community (Montara to Pescadero);
  2. a student planning to attend an accredited college or university for the 2021 – 2022 academic year, or;
  3. a student planning to enroll in a certified program at an accredited trade school for the 2021 – 2022 academic year.

READ MORE …

2020 Scholarships Awarded

Greetings, Odd Fellows! This is a later than planned report on the 2019-2020 scholarships awarded by the Youth Services Committee (YSC). As a result of you showing up and working at our concerts, clothing swap, raffles as well as your direct contributions, we donated a total of $13,000 to ten Half Moon Bay High School graduates and three scholars already attending college.

READ MORE …

Our Scholarship Fund Mission

The Mission of our Scholarship Fund

The Half Moon Bay Odd Fellows Scholarship Fund is based upon the conviction that an educated society is essential to a healthy democracy. The Half Moon Bay Odd Fellows Scholarship Fund, which has been in operation for over a decade, provides access to post-secondary education to members of our community who otherwise would not have the financial means to fulfill their educational goals.

The Odd Fellows see higher education as a catalyst, an agent of change for individuals, families, communities, and nations. We envision a community that recognizes the importance of educational attainment and assures positive educational outcomes are accessible to all regardless of economic circumstance. In our community, doors will not be closed to those who lack financial resources, and post-secondary education will be available to all with the potential to succeed.

READ MORE …

2017 Scholarship Recipients

Half Moon Bay Odd Fellows awarded scholarships to students from Half Moon Bay High School, Pescadero High School and those continuing their education.

READ MORE …

 

 

 

A Good Deeds In Hard Times ~ Odd Fellows Scholarship ~ A Sweet Story

 BY  1 COMMENT (EDIT)

ESSAY.
This good deed sprang from a visit on the coast between two old friends that met in 4th grade at Farallone View School in approximately 1962. One lives on the coast and is a member of the Odd Fellows Lodge of Half Moon Bay, the other lives in Kensington in Contra Costa county.

FLT = Friendship, Love, Truth

It was a sunny spring day and a lovely visit. The two friends hiked on the bluffs, ate lunch in Princeton and enjoyed naps on neighboring couches in the quiet, warm afternoon. During it all they talked and talked: catching up on grown children’s activities, world affairs and personal projects. One is an accomplished Sculptor who is part of a studio coop in Oakland, the other a Nurse Practitioner, adjusting to recent retirement. (Although only 4 weeks ago, the prolonged contact and movement around the community freely during this visit seem such luxuries now…)
One of the subjects discussed during the visit was the difficulty the Coastside resident had in choosing who should get awarded scholarships. The Odd Fellows of Half Moon Bay provide scholarships to coast side youth. The Odd Fellow member was on the committee which was in the process of choosing 5 recipients from 9 applications received from the HMBHS Local Scholarship Committee. Each scholarship is for $1,000, not as much as they would like to give but enough to help get started. The difficulty arose in that the applicants were ALL worthy of a scholarship!
The scholarship applications were written with candor, humor and heart. The students demonstrated motivation to better circumstances for not just themselves but for their families and communities. The students were looking at a variety of programs, including Welding Certificates, Car Mechanic training, MRI/Ultrasound Tech, Cosmetology, Early Childhood Education, etc. All the applicants worked at least one job to help support their families as well as going to school full-time.  How to choose 5 out of the group of 9 deserving applicants? Back to the creed.
The Odd Fellow creed is old fashioned in its language but still inspiring, they are: “visit the sick, relieve the distressed, bury the dead and educate the orphan”. The local Odd Fellow Lodge has considered youth who lack support due to lack of income, divorce, deportation, death or who lack support from their community to be  “orphaned”, in a sense.  To the Odd Fellow member of the Scholarship Committee it felt like being in a lifeboat and having too few life rings for people still in the water……Odd Fellows made a pledge for  5, there are 9 great applicants.
The discussion and visit ended when one friend went to her Mother’s house (who still lives on the coast) for a dinner with her mother and then returned home to east Bay. Once home she discussed the scholarship selection quandary with her husband, retired businessman/entrepreneur Chris Hall.  Chris manages a nonprofit community farmers market in Kensington and volunteers as a tutor to students in his local school district where his fluency in Spanish comes in handy.
Here’s the good deed: Chris promptly volunteered to donate $5,000 so that all 9 applicants will receive $1,000 scholarships to pursue their ongoing educational plans.
In this time of fear and isolation, Chris Hall’s generosity is reassuring and hopeful. Chris is matter of fact about his generosity, but to the Odd Fellows it is a Very Big Deal. Thank you, Chris!

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