BLACKSBURG, Va. – The Blacksburg Refugee Partnership has created a new scholarship program to help two former refugees attend college.
The non-profit started working with the two when they arrived four years ago through a refugee program, knowing no English and having only a scattered education.
The past few years, they’ve balanced part-time jobs while attending community college, but this fall, one will attend Virginia Tech and the other, Radford University.
To help them with the cost, the nonprofit started the Scholarship To Advance former-Refugee Students (STARS) to offer $5,000 for each student.
A GoFundMe was created to kickstart the fundraising.
“They’ve not only been able to hold jobs and help their parents with literally logistic things you have to do as an adult, but they’ve also been able to succeed in their educational programs,” explained Talia Baddour, a volunteer with the non-profit.
The organization is also partnering with In Balance Yoga Studio to host donation classes on August 21 at 4:30 p.m. to help raise the scholarship money.
Serving five families right now, Baddour said they hope to provide a scholarship for future students as they are reaching college age in the next year or two.