Philanthropy
The piping and drumming community is very supportive of its community. Listed
below are various types of philanthropic opportunities for pipers and drummers.
The purpose of this list is two-fold: to let potential donors know about
organizations that sponsor contests and scholarships to which they can
contribute, and also to let people know about the variety of awards that may be
available to them. If you have an item you'd like to add to this list, please
email it to
zecsec@euspba.org.
The Charles O. Gordon Memorial Grade 4 Jr. Piper of the Day at the
Grandfather Mountain Highland Games
The Grandfather Mountain Highland Games Committee and the House of Gordon
USA is pleased to sponsor the Charles O. Gordon Memorial Grade 4 Jr. Piper
of the Day at the Grandfather Mountain Highland Games. A special trophy will
be awarded along with a scholarship for one week's tuition (residential) at
the recipient's piping summer school of choice for the following summer.
This will be an annual award going forward.
The Manchester Regional Police and Fire Pipe Band
The Manchester Regional Police and Fire Pipe Band Inc. is offering three
scholarships for pipers, drummers and drum majors in the New England area.
Deadline for requesting a scholarship is June 1, 2010. Please visit our
website at: www.mrpf.net to get the
scholarship application.
Richmond Highland Games & Celtic Festival
The Richmond Highland Games & Celtic Festival is produced by the State Fair
of Virginia, a private, not-for-profit company dedicated to promoting youth,
education and agriculture.
Proceeds from the Festival benefit the State Fair of Virginia Scholarship
Program, which, since 1989, has awarded 1,580 scholarships and has dedicated
nearly one and a half million dollars to youth education.
Announcing the 2010 Annual Jack
Munro Memorial Award for Young Aspiring Pipers
We are now accepting applications for the 2010 Jack Munro Memorial Award
for Young Aspiring Pipers. Applicants for this award must meet the following
criteria:
- Must be between the ages of 8 and 16
- Must have been taking bagpipes lessons for no longer than 4 years
- Must be a resident in one of the EUSPBA states
Each applicant should submit a 1-2 page essay titled “The importance of
my Celtic heritage and my interest in the bagpipes.” Each applicant should
also supply two letters of recommendation, one from their bagpipe instructor
and one other from another adult (i.e. parents, family, friends, teachers,
etc.).
The winner of this award will receive a new set of McCallum bagpipes,
valued at ~$1000. The winner will be selected by a committee of Munro family
members. The winner will be chosen based on the applicant’s essays (taking
age into consideration) and will be the applicant that best exemplifies the
passion, enjoyment, energy, dedication and commitment that Jack Munro had
for the bagpipes and the perpetuation of the Celtic culture.
The bagpipes will be awarded at the Capital District Scottish Games,
which will be held on September 4th and 5th, 2010 (Labor Day weekend) at the
Altamont Fairgrounds.
Email confirmation will be sent to you upon receipt of your application
package in the mail (assuming you provide us with an email address).
Applications must be postmarked by August 5, 2010, should include all
appropriate contact information (including age) and should be mailed to:
Jack Munro Memorial Award
c/o The Munro Family
114 Appleton Road
Rexford, NY 12148
The winner of this award will be notified during the 2nd half of August
2010. Any questions can be directed to either
mmunro1@nycap.rr.com or you can
call 518-373-0797.
A special “thank you” to Iain Donaldson and the British Shop for
their assistance in acquiring and preparing the set of McCallum bagpipes given
for this award.
Clan MacInnes offers
scholarships to those involved in the study of Scottish arts, such as
piping, dancing, drumming, Gaelic language, or Scottish history. These
scholarships may partially or completely cover expenses related to classes,
lessons, tuition, and/or registration, etc., but do not apply to living
expenses to attend such classes.
If you are interested in applying, please send your name, address, phone, and
email address (if applicable), along with detailed information about field of
study, dates, fees involved (please break down fees), financial need(if
applicable), and any reasons why you should be deserving. Please submit
applications, in letter format, to:
Randy McInnis, Chairman - Scholarship Committee
1413 Autumn Ridge Lane
Fort Mill, SC 29708
or via email: rmci@comporium.net.
Applications must be received by June 1 of each year. For more information,
see:
www.macinnes.org/scholarship.html
North Georgia College and State
University, a Senior Military College, has scholarships available to
bagpipers or drummers who are also interested in Army ROTC. For more information
you can contact Cadet Recruiting at 1-888-413-9366 or visit
www.ngcsu.edu.
The Hawk Mountain
Highlanders Pipe Band has scholarships worth $1000 per year available
for pipers or drummers attending the Schuylkill Campus of Penn State who
also participate in the band's programs. For more information concerning
Penn State Schuylkill, see:
www.sl.psu.edu. For more information on the
band, see:
www.personal.psu.edu/faculty/m/w/mwl2/
Band_page.html. These scholarships are not need-based and may extend for
up to four years. For more information, contact Wes Loder at
MWL2@psu.edu
Please visit the New York City
Fire Department Pipe Band Web site
for information on donating to the Uniformed Firefighters' Association
Widows' and Children's Fund.
With regard to the tragic events of September 11, 2001,
donations are being requested for The
Silver Shield Foundation, which provides
scholarship money to children of fallen firefighters and police officers.
The day-to-day affairs of this foundation are managed through the
organization Changing Our World, Inc. in New York City. The Web site for
Changing Our World, Inc. is
http://www.changingourworld.com
Who is covered? Children of people who have been killed in the line of duty
as a New York City Police Officer, a New York City Firefighter, a Port Authority
Police Officer, or a State Trooper from New York, New Jersey or Connecticut.
Several pipe bands from these organizations are members of the EUSPBA. Each
child is eligible for $20,000 in scholarship assistance. Additionally, the
foundation provides tutors when the children need extra help at any age. The
foundation also hosts lunches for the widows, provides food baskets during the
holidays, and offers financial assistance to widows who may wish to go back to
school to help them earn a better living for their family.
In one day, 403 firefighters and police officers died in the tragedy in New
York, and the foundation added 700 children to their list. This number is higher
then all the children the foundation has had under its umbrella since the
foundation started 18 years ago. (700 children X $20,000 = 14 million dollars)
If you can give anything it would be much appreciated.
Checks and money orders should be made out to "Silver Shield Foundation" and
mailed to:
Silver Shield Foundation
c/o Changing Our World, Inc.
420 Lexington Avenue, Suite 2320
New York, NY 10170
An endowment was established in 2000 for the
Charlotte J. Lowe Memorial Trophy and Scholarship, to be awarded
each year at the Virginia Scottish Games. This scholarship and trophy are
being awarded to the Amateur Grade III Piper of the Day. Further
contributions may be directed to:
Virginia Beach Federal Employees Credit Union
Charlotte J. Lowe Memorial Fund
2501 Courthouse Drive
Virginia Beach, VA 23456
The Virginia Scottish Games Association also awards a
scholarship in memory of
Robert Gilchrist to the Amateur Grade 4
Junior Piper of the Day. Donations to:
Helen Harlow
24 Highlander Drive
Fredericksburg, VA 22406
540-373-4890
harlow59@msn.com
The Nicol-Brown Amateur
Invitational Contest, founded in 1982 to honor the memory of Robert U.
Brown and Robert B. Nicol, invites Amateur Grade 1 pipers from across North
America to a formal indoor competition each October. The overall winner
receives airfare to compete in London, England the following year. The
volunteer committee relies on donations to make this a quality experience
for the competitors. To donate, send checks payable to the Nicol-Brown
Chalice to:
Paula Glendinning
103 Country View Court
Ashton, MD 20861
301-774-3154
inning@aol.com
The Colonial Highland
Gathering at Fair Hill, Maryland, awards a $250.00 scholarship in memory of
Robert Gilchrist to the winner of the Amateur Grade 4 Junior piping
competition. The prize is to be used towards a piping school of the winner's
choice. The scholarship was initiated by Gail Gilchrist, and is now
controlled by an independent committee. To donate, contact:
Ian Johnstone
516 Dougfield Road
Newark, DE 19713
302-731-7672
Fax: 302-453-8165
idj67@aol.com.
Also at the Colonial Highland Gathering, the Amateur Drum
Major of the day is awarded tuition to any Drum Major Workshop of their
choice, in memory of Jim Penrose III. This
scholarship was originated by Connie Penrose, and is now controlled by an
independent committee. To donate, contact:
Ian Johnstone
516 Dougfield Road
Newark, DE 19713
302-731-7672
Fax: 302-453-8165
idj67@aol.com.
The Scottish Scholarship Fund of
New Hampshire annually awards scholarships for individuals and
organizations to promote interest, understanding, and enjoyment, and
preservation of Scottish and Gaelic literature, art, architecture, dance,
music, history, athletic achievement, culture and traditions. Grant and
scholarship requests are accepted through 10 April of the year and awards
are made by early May. For further information, contact:
Ralf L. Hartwell, Jr.
13 Gale Village Road
Newton, NH 03858-3101
ralfh@ttlc.net.
Amateur Grade 1 competitors at the
U.S. Piping Foundation in June each year vie for a number of
scholarships and awards, made possible by the generosity of donors. The
competitor with the highest point accumulation from the Piobaireachd and MSR
competitions will receive round trip airfare to Scotland and two weeks
tuition at an approved venue in Scotland. The overall winner also receives
the USPF Silver Buckle. Scholarships will be awarded to approved Piping
Schools for overall placements in the following amounts: 2nd Place - $700;
3rd Place - $600; 4th Place - $500; 5th Place - $400. In the event of a tie
the over-all winner will be determined by a piobaireachd preference. To
contribute, contact:
Maclean Macleod
20 Wakefield Drive
Newark, DE 19711-7012
302-731-5101
The Balmoral School
maintains a scholarship fund used to award: three full scholarships to the
top ranked piobaireachd player in EUSPBA Amateur Grades 1, 2, and 3; full
scholarships for two of Scotland's top junior champion pipers; and
approximately 20 partial scholarships to attend the Balmoral Schools. These
scholarships are made possible by grants and donations from the Ed
Littlefield Foundation, the Balmoral scholarship fund, and individual
donors. To donate, contact:
George Balderose
The Balmoral Schools
1414 Pennsylvania Ave.
Pittsburgh, PA 15233
412-323-2707
info@bagpiping.org
The Midatlantic Branch
of EUSPBA awards a $500 drumming school scholarship to the winner of the
John Murray Memorial Challenge, an Amateur Grade 4 Jr. Drumming contest
held at the Midatlantic Workshop. Also at the Midatlantic Workshop, the
Branch holds the Robert Gilchrist Memorial Challenge, a Piobaireachd
contest for pipers who will be under 22 years of age the following August.
The prize is a trip to Scotland to compete in the MacGregor Memorial
Piobaireachd contest at the Argyllshire Gathering, which is also for pipers
under the age of 22. For more information, contact:
Midatlantic Branch Chair
midatlantic@euspba.org
EUSPBA has established a
scholarship fund, begun with donations from Wygent Reedmakers. Plans for the
scholarship fund are still being developed. To donate, contact:
Jim Roberts
EUSPBA Treasurer
treasurer@euspba.org