January 28, 2011

Rock the Air Scholarship Fund Passes $700,000 Mark!

January 27, 2011

On Thursday, January 27, the Community Foundation of Northern Illinois announced that the Rock the Air Scholarship Fund surpassed the $700,000 mark.

According to Linda Sandquist, Director of Marketing and Communications for the Community Foundation:

This has been an exciting week for the Rock the Air Scholarship Fund. On Tuesday we received word that Rockford Bank and Trust would pledge $10,000 to the initiative. Yesterday, we received a pledge sheet from J.L. Clark indicating their $10,000 pledge to the fund. And this morning, the following email was sent to Gloria Lundin, President of the Community Foundation:

Nate Howard, President of William Charles, Ltd., is pleased to announce that the company will pledge $50,000 to the Community Foundation for the Embry-Riddle Scholarship Fund.

William Charles is a multi-faceted business headquartered in Rockford, IL. The company has three main focuses: construction management, real estate development and waste and environmental services. Tracing its roots back almost 100 years, William Charles continues operating as a family-owned business where employees come first and emphasis is put on workforce safety, being good stewards of the environment, supporting the communities in which they live and really paying attention to their clients/customers.

I would also like to remind everyone that Ken Dufour, trustee for Embry-Riddle has said that Embry-Riddle is not just looking for a location, it is looking for a community. This outpouring of community support, particularly when we reach the $1 million goal will show Embry-Riddle that Rockford is the community for them.

The Rock the Air Scholarship Fund is a community-supported initiative aimed at encouraging Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University to choose Rockford as the location for its third residential campus. Finalists for the campus are Rockford, IL and Houston, TX. If Embry-Riddle chooses Rockford, proceeds from the permanently endowed scholarship fund will be awarded each year to Midwestern students attending the Rockford Embry-Riddle campus. The goal for the fund is $1 million.

The total for the scholarship fund currently stands at $700,218.

People can go to the Community Foundation’s website at www.cfnil.org to make a pledge.

For more information about the Rock the Air Scholarship Fund, call Gloria Lundin, Community Foundation President at 815-962-2110 ext. 16. The Community Foundation of Northern Illinois is the area’s largest provider of grants and scholarships.

Contact
Linda Sandquist
Community Foundation of Northern Illinois
Phone 815-962-2110 ext. 12
Cell 815-289-1258
Email lsandquist@cfnil.org