Marine veteran makes scholarships available for prospective HBCU students
|
|
|
Posted By: Sofía Montiel on February 02, 2023 JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — On the first day of Black History Month a local organization is expanding the way that it helps the community. First Coast Community Development, which is run by Marine veteran Charlie Griffin, will offer ten $1,000 scholarships to graduating high school seniors who plan to pursue a STEM major at Historically Black Colleges and Universities in Northeast Florida. This latest example of giving is just the latest way that Griffin has tried to help the community. In July 2022 First Coast News first told viewers about Marine veteran Charlie Griffin and the free health clinic that he was starting with Dr. Albert Chester. That clinic is now located at 525 Newnan Street in downtown Jacksonville. "After filling out the information, the patient will come back to this area," said Dr. Chester while giving a tour of the health clinic. "Here they'll do their initial HIV screening, get the results and talk to our counselor." They still offer health screening services, but what they give to the underprivileged doesn't stop there. "We're giving away shoes," said Griffin. "Dr. Chester and I are buying 200 pairs of shoes, we're going to give away 200 pairs of shoes to the people who come in the door." Griffin also uses his retirement checks to pay for meals for the homeless every Saturday. And the generosity goes beyond that. Griffin brought his daughter Carly Griffin into the fold as First Coast Community Development's Director of Public Health. Carly Griffin recently graduated from FAMU with a degree in biology and pre-med. She will also oversee a scholarship program for graduating from high school seniors who want to continue their education at HBCUs in Northeast Florida. "Going to an HBCU changed my whole view, my whole experience," said Carly Griffin. "Being able to learn and network with people who look like me and people who are interested in my development is something that's important to me." Ten scholarships of $1,000 each will go to seniors with plans to study STEM fields. "For a lot of people, the biggest obstacle in continuing education they face is money," said Carly Griffin, "how are they going to pay for school, school is very expensive." Charlie Griffin also wants to know how the scholarship recipients plan to make their community a better place to live. Part of the scholarship process is for applicants to write a 250-word essay about how they will make their community a better place after graduating from college. "Just having kids see what we're doing and say, you know what, I want to contribute to the community that I'm living in," said Charlie Griffin. "Just giving them a footprint or a foundation to say I want to be involved in the community." Charlie Griffin, who is a Marine veteran who has dedicated his life to serving the people of Jacksonville, now works with his daughter to foster the next generation of young people to support the community. "We just want to highlight those black people who have been the guiding light, who have been innovators, who have helped establish the ground so we may walk behind them," said Carly Griffin. To be eligible for a scholarship through First Coast Community Development, students must have a minimum of a 3.0 GPA and submit a 250 word minimum essay on "How he/she will help their community once completing college" to the email: charlie.griffin@fccdinc.org Scholarship submissions are due by May 5, 2023 at 11:59pm EST. SOURCE First Coast News If you enjoyed this article, Join HBCU CONNECT today for similar content and opportunities via email! |
 |
Sofía Montiel
HBCU Connect, Customer Success Engineer Spelman College class of 2017 Member Since November 2022 |
Comments
More From This Author
Latest News
 |
CELEBRATING SOME OF THE MOST INFLUENTIAL AFRICAN AMERICAN LEADERSBeing a leader isn’t always easy. It often requires you to overcome adversity, face challenges head-on, and fight for what’s right. In celebration of our cultural richness, we are highlighting some of ...more
Sofía Montiel • 78 Views • June 2nd, 2023 |
 |
Hidden Gems: Uncovering the Most Epic Rural HBCUsHistorically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) have played an instrumental role in providing opportunities for African American students to receive quality education. Many of these institutions ...more
Sofía Montiel • 242 Views • June 2nd, 2023 |
 |
HBCU graduates share lessons learned — from prioritizing happiness to embracing their natural hairCollege is a challenging and formative time.
Students must navigate heavy coursework, as well as demands outside the classroom — from leadership roles at student organizations to new relationships, ...more
Sofía Montiel • 115 Views • June 2nd, 2023 |
 |
‘SuperFest’: Loni Love sheds light on her past engineering career, new mission as an entertainerFollowing “Byron Allen Presents The Comedy & Music SuperFest,” Allen Media’s John Kelley caught up with Loni Love. The variety show is scheduled to air at 9 p.m. ET Monday on theGrio Cable Network.
...more
Sofía Montiel • 164 Views • June 2nd, 2023 |
 |
National Battle of the Bands Film - The Road to Houston: Preparing to Battle Returns to Screens in Honor of Black Music MonthCHARLOTTE, N.C. - In honor of Black Music Month, Webber Marketing (WM), creators of the Pepsi National Battle of the Bands (NBOTB), is excited to announce the re-airing of the inspiring film, The Road ...more
Sofía Montiel • 98 Views • June 2nd, 2023 |
Popular News
