A Scholarship and Educational Grant Program for At-Risk Youth, Funded by the Loudoun County Bar Foundation, Inc.

In 2004, the Loudoun County Bar Association and other Loudoun County agencies proudly started the Loudoun County Chapter of the Beat the Odds® program for youth, a scholarship program designed to reward the achievement and success of at-risk youth in the community.  Supported by several Loudoun County organizations, the program identifies local youth who have demonstrated the ability to succeed in spite of being  at risk for failure because of their environment or life circumstances.  The program seeks to improve their odds for success by providing financial awards to assist them in pursuing educational and vocational goals.

Beat the Odds® is a nationally recognized project initiated in 1990 by the Children’s Defense Fund.  The program celebrates the positive potential of youth who do well and succeed despite facing such problems as poverty, violence, homelessness, family breakup or substance abuse.

Read about our 6th Annual Loudoun Beat the Odds Scholarship Award Ceremony held on May 27, 2010 !

Scholarship Eligibility

For the Beat the Odds® scholarship program, students must be a high school senior and clients or former clients of one of the following organizations or agencies: the Juvenile and Domestic Relations Court; the Juvenile Court Services Unit; the Department of Mental Health, Mental Retardation and Substance Abuse Services; the Community Services Board; or the Department of Social Services.  Selected students must have displayed marked improvement in their grades, participated in community service activities and/or aided in the support of their family.  They should be remarkable young men and women who show the potential to be valuable members of our community, if only given the opportunity.  Applications for interested students are currently available at all Loudoun County high schools, with an application deadline in mid-April each year.

Donations

The Beat the Odds® Committee is currently soliciting tax deductible donations of funds, goods, or services to support this new program.  If you or your organization would like to donate to or sponsor this program or next year's golf tournament, please print and use the linked Donation Form, or feel free to contact Matt Snow at 703-779-2000 or snow@btoloudoun.org.  Any donations by check should be made payable to the "Loudoun Bar Foundation" with "Beat the Odds" in the notation.

Application

A student interested in applying for a Loudoun "Beat the Odds®" program scholarship should print this application and follow all of the listed instructions.  Application deadline is April 9, 2010.