The Berry/Kauffold Scholarship 2024
The Berry/Kauffold Scholarship is designed to help students further their music education. The purpose of our scholarship is to provide monetary incentives to musically talented high school students. The money can be used to purchase/lease new or upgraded instrument(s) or to offset expenses for band camp or for private instrumental instruction from a qualified teacher or program.
The award of scholarship support is based upon completion of the application and the recommendation forms and a two-to-five minute video/audio file.
Through this program, we will be awarding $2000 to deserving high school students in Michigan.
Our goal is to encourage long-term involvement in music performance and to make students aware of the opportunity to continue performance with a community music experience and to pursuing music education after high school.
In order to apply, Scholarship applicants must :
- Attend High School in the state of Michigan
or
be sponsored by a current Michigan District Optimist Club - Be in the ninth (9th) through eleventh (11th) grade
- Current members of their high school instrumental or orchestral music program.
Application and Reference Forms
are due by April 15, 2024
All applicants with complete applications will be on the status of his/her scholarship application process.
SCHOLARSHIP PRESENTATION OF AWARDS*
- Scholarships will be awarded during the Michigan District Optimists Third Quarter Conference in May.
Time and date TBD. - Should this award presentation be postponed or cancelled due to Covid 19, the award announcements will be made via USPS mail.
- Scholarship Awards will be made at the discretion of the Scholarship Committee and must be used by September 15, 2024. The decisions of the Scholarship Committee and Judges are final.
*If the Scholarship will be used for Private Lessons a Verification Log is required
The Private Lesson Verification Log is to be sent to the address listed below no later than October 1, 2024.
The award will be known to the recipient within thirty (30) days after the log has been received.
Payment will be made directly to the student thirty (30) days after the log has been received and verified .
Send Verification Log to:
Michelle Kauffold
8898 Longview Drive
Stanwood, MI 49346
If you have any questions, please contact the
Scholarship Committee Michigan District Optimist/Optimist International
Debra Berry
(ph)248/467-0592
(email) deb@debinparis.com
or
Michelle Kauffold
(ph) 313-510-6300
(email) newmichelle@att.net
Celebrating Young Talent: Birmingham Optimist Club’s Visual Arts Contest Winners
The Birmingham Optimist Club recently hosted an inspiring Optimist International Visual Arts Contest, led by dedicated club member Christine Lapinski. With the theme “Bringing Out the Best,” young artists from our community put their creativity on full display, producing truly remarkable pieces of art.
Christine worked tirelessly to ensure the contest’s success, and we are thrilled to announce that she has officially submitted the five winning entries to Optimist International for further recognition.
Honoring Our Young Artists
To celebrate their incredible achievements, the winners and their families have been invited to our special Evening Meeting on April 22 at Grand Tavern, where they will be recognized for their hard work and receive their awards and prize money.
We encourage everyone to take a moment to admire the unbelievable talent displayed in the winning entries (see attachment). These young artists have truly embodied the spirit of optimism and creativity, and we couldn’t be prouder of their efforts!
Congratulations to our talented winners, and a special thank you to Christine Lapinski for her dedication to making this contest a success. We can’t wait to see where these budding artists go next!
Michelle Kauffold
Scholarship Committee