Congratulations to Areta!

On behalf of the Stephanie Marie Burgos Scholarship, we would like to congratulate Areta Gijcali on her acceptance into Colombia University for Graduate School!

We are incredibly proud of all of your achievements and are happy to have you as a part of our board and as a dear friend. We wish you the best!

Spring Fever Dance and Upcoming Events!

I hope everyone had a wonderful weekend! Now that the weather is scorching hot, I’m sure everyone is excited for our upcoming Summer fundraiser events!

But first, I have a report on our last event which had a great turnout:

Last month, we hosted our annual Spring Fever Dance and invited friends and family of the Stephanie Marie Burgos Scholarship to attend. The get-together was held at the H&A Party Place in Ridgewood on April 25^th. Tickets for the event were sold at $35 for a limited time.

We also had two honoree guests in attendance; SMBS scholars Areta and Marianna. During the event, Areta delivered an inspiring speech about her pride in being a SMBS scholar and announced her graduation as a bonafide board member of the Stephanie Marie Burgos Scholarship. We are incredibly proud of Areta for stepping up to the plate and continuing to be an active force in the scholarship!

26 tickets were purchased and overall, including donations to our fund, we were able to raise a total of $1225 from the celebration. It was a great turn out, but we are always hoping to get more people involved in our events!

If you feel as though you've missed out on our party, don’t worry! We have a few other events coming up real soon:

·       Our annual Atlantic City trip is on June 7^th at $35 a ticket. It includes a bus trip as well as a casino voucher for $20 dollars. You may also bring a child with you for a discounted rate of $20 which includes the bus ride, but does not include a casino voucher due to the age restriction on gambling. Come join us for a great time!

·     We will also be hosting a Yankee Game fundraiser on July 19^th. The cost is $30 for a ticket.

As always, the proceeds for the events will go to the scholarship fund, which means that you’ll be having fun as well giving back to this wonderful organization. Please contact your favorite board member for more details!  

-Richard Bohan

Web Editor

Nicolas Strikes Again!

     If you remember last year, our young philanthropist Nicolas Torres chose not to receive gifts for his sixth birthday. Instead, he asked his friends and family to donate money to his school and to the SMBS fund. But if you thought it was a one time thing, think again!

     For his seventh birthday, Nicolas once again requested that his friends and family to contribute to both the scholarship and his school, and the results were spectacular. He was able to raise $445 for his school and $390 for the SMBS fund. 

    Happy Birthday, Nicolas and keep up the good work. We'd also like to thank the friends and family who contributed and who keep on supporting the scholarship.

   If Nicolas has inspired you to donate, you can send a check or money order to The Stephanie Marie Burgos Scholarship Inc., P.O. Box 370153, Brooklyn, New York 11237.

Applications are due April 9, 2013 (Edited 4.8.2014)

  

Edit: Originally this post had said that the application was due on the 7th of April. It is actually due on the 9th. Sorry for any confusion.
  
 A gentle reminder that the Stephanie Marie Burgos Scholarship application is due next week, April 9th, 2013. 

    The scholarship will be awarded to one student selected by a committee after reviewing all applications. The minimum eligibility requirements are: 

·     A senior in good standing at a New York City public high school.

·     Minimum of 80% grade point average or equivalent;

·     Accepted by at least one accredited four-year college or university and planning to attend on a full-time basis.

·     Demonstrated financial need.

·     At least two of the following three criteria:

o     Overcame an academic challenge (includes a student with an Individualized Education Plan or significant academic gains over time).

o     Overcame social or emotional difficulties (e.g. a single parent household or a family suffering economic or circumstantial hardship).

o     Possess an interest in the fine or communication arts. 

  If you have any questions about the application process please e-mail us at SMBS2010@aol.com. 

-Richard Bohan
SMBS Web Editor

SMBS at Chili's!

                            
     The Stephanie Marie Burgos Scholarship held their first fundraising event of the year at Chili's in Atlas Park last week on the 19th of March. The scholarship would like to thank Chili's for their support as they donated 10% of the event sales back to our organization! 

 We would also like to thank Alex Agrinsoni for organizing the event, as well as the families and friends who came to support us at Chili's. It was great to see all of your smiling faces shine through these photographs.
             

One adorable smile also won the Best Chili's Picture Contest sponsored by SMBS INC. and also won our hearts in the process! Andrea R. won a 25 dollar gift card for submitting an awesome photo of her enjoying a Chili's burger. Enjoy!

The fundraiser was able to generate 248 dollars, plus 45 dollars donated directly to the organization, which is remarkable as it was our first event of the year. Thank you to everyone who came out to support! 

-Richard Bohan
SMBS Web Editor

Introducing the new Web Editor for the Stephanie Marie Burgos Scholarship Blog.

Dear Readers,

      I have been part of the Stephanie Marie Burgos Scholarship for over five years as a recipient and now an active board member. You all have watched me grow through this very blog. From the very first article that was written about me to my own personal statements published on this blog, I have shared a little piece of myself. In turn, I have received valuable connections that will last a life time, but more importantly, an extended family who I can always turn to. 

      I am not alone though. The journeys of all our scholarship recipients are well documented on this blog and part of what makes this organization so special. We might not have huge numbers on our side, but we share real stories about the success of our scholars. One of our scholars, Alexander Michelangelo Martin, has completed and starred in his own music video, Areta Gicali has traveled around the world and met many international students, and two of our scholars (including myself) have already graduated from college. 

    As the new Web Editor of the SMBS blog, I promise to continue to honor this tradition of sharing these stories with you. I promise to keep the family, friends and benefactors of this scholarship up to date with not only the inner workings of our organization, but also the amazing adventures of our wonderful scholars. This entails more frequent updates for the blog, a better tagging system to organize these articles and expansion into other social media such as Tumblr, Twitter and Linkedin. 

  Keep watching this space for more updates on the application process, events for the new year and new projects under the Stephanie Marie Burgos Scholarship. Here's to an exciting 2014! 

Sincerely,

Richard Bohan 
SMBS Web Editor

SMBS Holiday Raffle Winners 2013

On Friday, December 20th at 1pm sharp with a total of seven witnesses present, two of which were board members, Charmaine Mayers and Diana Diaz-Torres, the raffle was drawn.  Jessica Jackson, who had not purchased a ticket or have any affiliation to the organization, drew our three lucky winners as follows:

First prize- 40' Flat screen TV - Ticket #1314 Fay Ramjattan
Second prize- HD Nook with gift card - Ticket #0180 Bonnie Bell
Third prize - $100 Visa Gift card - Ticket #1100 Elaine Rivera


We raised $1,190 including $110 donation separate from ticket sales. 

A special thank you for the very generous prize donations from Charlie Agrinsoni & family (40' flat screen tv), Charmaine Mayers (Nook with gift card) and David Torres ($100 visa gift card).  

Thank you to everyone who supported this fundraiser and all the other events this year!  Your support helps us continue to support current and future scholarship recipients.  This year has been an amazing fundraising year.  

Happy Holidays and may your New Year bring good health, prosperity and happiness to all!