Community Foundation Presents College Scholarships

The Community Foundation of Volusia & Flagler recently presented college scholarships to seven seniors graduating from area high schools, courtesy of the foundation’s Sarah T. Fillingame Trust and its Scholarship Committee.  Co-chaired by foundation board members, Ali Kargar (ICI Homes) and Anand Jobalia (Venetian Bay Properties), this committee administers education trusts created by local philanthropists who have a specific interest in helping qualified students in need of financial assistance.

Profile of a Young Role Model
One of the several award recipients, Tia McDonald of Edgewater, typifies the good citizenship of the Fillingame honorees selected this year.  Since her days as a very young student in elementary school, Tia has been an energetic volunteer in her community.  She has raised tens of thousands of dollars for various charities, mainly focusing on children with special needs.  Her inspiration for her life-long commitment to serving others may very well be the many challenges she has faced in her own personal family life.

Among many hardships, Tia has courageously overcome the loss of their home to fire 10 years ago, the death of her brother at the age of 19, and the loss of her father to Leukemia.  Choosing to help those less fortunate, Tia nevertheless found time and motivation in her school career to single-handedly spearhead a project to purchase a van with a wheelchair lift for a child seriously hurt in a car accident.  She founded a cheerleading squad for the Police Athletic League, and also founded the Shining Stars Pageant for special needs children.  Her fundraising endeavors have benefited the homeless, the hungry, the families of fallen soldiers who served in Iraq, and many other initiatives that demonstrate Tia’s enormous capacity for faith, compassion, and leadership.