Benton County Rotary Youth Scholarship Endowment
In 1985, Rotary club members Walter Hopkins, Ralph Allen, and Daniel Petrequin led an effort to create the Rotary Club of Corvallis Scholar Loan Foundation to provide short-term emergency loans to college students. Under the name Operation Rescue, the program was primarily funded by donations from members of the Rotary Club of Corvallis. Loans were given to students who might have to drop out of school or curtail their studies without immediate help. The foundation served an important need for students; during the 1990s, as many as 12 outstanding loans would be in process at any given time. Over the years, the nature of student finances changed and other loan sources became more widely available. In addition, administration of the program became more complex. Operation Rescue decided to offer grants instead of loans, which started to eat away at the principal.
In the interest of preserving the $14,000 principal, providing a long-term repository for additional donations and placing the funds with experienced fund managers, the Scholar Loan Foundation transferred the remaining principal to the Benton County Foundation to create the Benton County Rotary Youth Scholarship Endowment Fund. Earnings from the fund support the annual Benton County Student Assistance Grant Program.
Each year, the grant program solicits applications from college-bound Benton County high school students. Although grades are important, they are not the most important qualification for grants recipients. The grant committee looks for community leadership, a willingness to learn, and the capacity to uphold Rotary principles.
Each year, a few of the grantees deserve extra help, usually as a result of extraordinary financial strife. These students are among those who were originally targeted by the Scholar Loan Foundation, and so to honor that program’s founders, three special awards are made each year. These awards are called the Hopkins Award, the Allen Award, and the Petrequin Award. A student receiving one of the awards is made aware of the award’s special nature and receives information about its namesake.