Thirwood Place News: Residents Association Scholarship Fund

The Thirwood Difference

We call our blog series The Thirwood Difference for a reason. At Thirwood Place it’s our mission to make a difference in the lives of our residents and team members. We’re incredibly lucky to have some of the most supportive residents imaginable. Our residents truly appreciate the time and effort our different team members contribute to making their life at Thirwood the best it can be. Whether it’s a maintenance worker who fixed a broken microwave or a dining staff member who always remembers the way a certain resident likes their meal, our residents appreciate the Thirwood team. 

One way they show their appreciation is through the Staff Appreciation Fund. Residents contribute to it and each year around the holidays it is divided amongst the entire staff based on how long they have worked at Thirwood. In addition to this wonderful display of gratitude our Residents Association has created a Scholarship Fund for college and trade school students. According to our Residents Association, this fund was “established to provide a means of awarding scholarships to students who are either employees of Thirwood Place or are dependents or grandchildren of employees.”

What Does the Scholarship Provide?

The program offers up to $2,000 per academic semester in financial aid for any student fulfilling the requirements set forth by the scholarship committee. This would apply to a student who attends any recognized college or technical/trade school. They can also be full-time or part-time. 

Most people assume that students would use the funds from this for tuition only, but that’s not the intention behind the program. Whether high school or college, being a student gets expensive. Maybe you need a car or money for public transportation to get to class. If you’re a trade school student you might use the scholarship to pay for the tools you need for classes. If you’re in college these funds could be used to help you with housing, books, or any and everything you could possibly need to improve your experience as a student so you can learn to the best of your abilities. That’s the true intention behind this program. Give people the funds they need so they don’t have to worry about anything other than focusing on their education. 

The Committee and its Standards

One of the best aspects of our Scholarship program is that it’s run by our residents. The Thirwood Place Scholarship Committee includes three members and any necessary volunteers. Each committee member fulfills a specific role. One member is responsible for marketing, another to be treasurer and the third to handle and monitor applications. The committee also reports to the Residents Association. They provide them with interim reports regarding any new donations and the disposition of funds. 

In addition to committee roles, standards for applicants have also been implemented. These standards vary based on the number of credit hours a student has per semester. Some qualify as full time, others as part time. The program also includes Graduate Program students and students who have enrolled in programs that enhance their employability. It doesn’t necessarily have to be a specific level of education. According to the committee “these standards are put in place… to encourage students to work their best.”

Eligibility 

A very exciting and new aspect of eligibility for the Scholarship program is that Thirwood Place employees have been urged to apply as well. The committee has also started to include grandparents and dependents of any employee. This expansion is recent and the committee members were thrilled to share this information at our last Department Head Meeting.

The reason this is such a special addition to the program is because it’s never too late in life to learn something new and continue education. Yes, Thirwood Place has many employees who are going to college or tech school. BUT, we also have a ton of talented staff members who now, with the help of the program, can invest in continuing education. This could be for conferences, workshops, seminars or short courses “that will enhance their skills in their chosen fields.”

We are so lucky to have residents that care about the personal growth of the Thirwood Place staff and their family members.

Committee Member Mrs. Linda Bryant

We sat down with resident and committee member Mrs. Linda Bryant to talk about her background and how she got involved with the scholarship program. As mentioned earlier, the Thirwood Place, Residents Association Scholarship Fund was created to help people achieve their goals. Based on Linda’s background it makes a lot of sense why she got involved. 

Ole’ Miss and the Vietnam War 

Linda was raised in upstate New York, but moved to Mississippi at 16 when her dad changed jobs. She went to Ole Miss on a scholarship where she got her Sociology degree. According to Linda, when the war in Vietnam began everyone at her university was either trying to find a way to get over there and fight or avoid the draft. Linda’s father and both her grandfathers were veterans. Her father figured she would never go into the service because she was one of four girls. He thought wrong. Linda, being a single young college student at the time decided to help her country by joining the Red Cross and becoming a “Donut Dollie.

Hidden History of Donut Dollies

According to the Army Historical Foundation “During World War II numerous teams of three female Red Cross volunteers operated clubmobiles equipped with a kitchen area with a stove for heating water for coffee and a built-in donut-making machine.”  

The Vietnam war was so unique because of the jungle environment that required helicopters for transportation. According to Linda she accumulated 150 hours of flying time as a passenger in helicopters. She was 21 and “invincible.” As a Donut Dollie, she used to sit next to the door gunners with machine guns in the corner with her bright blue dress on. 

During the Vietnam War, “No one appreciated the presence of the Donut Dollies more than the troops on the remote firebases. Minutes spent talking about home or sports or music or wives and girlfriends with a fresh-faced American girl with a pony tail wearing a tinge of lipstick and a splash of perfume was a terrific morale boost.”

Linda also shared that Ole’ Miss was a big ROTC school that had a lot of students looking to serve. She actually ran into three guys in Vietnam who she knew from school. 

From Donut Dollie to Social Worker and Advocate 

After Vietnam Linda lived in Florida where she worked as a social worker. While she was working she realized one of her associates had a degree in social work. This inspired her and others she worked with to start a committee so Florida State University would open a location in Orlando because the closest location was 300 miles away. 

Once the program was finished, the school recognized its success and decided to hire Linda as an off-campus program coordinator. This led to two more off campus programs. One in Gainesville and another in Jacksonville. The faculty would fly to each location as the course were identical. Same books and same professors. The only difference was the electives.

After six years working with this program, Linda was ready for a change and she moved to DC. At the time, her best friend from Vietnam had joined the Air Force and was at the Pentagon. During her time in DC, Linda worked for the Army for a year, and the VA for 22 years. In her years closer to retirement she worked with nursing home patients and then she switched to the Vet centers for ten years.

Eventually New England came calling to Linda. She would continue helping people through her position with Equal Employment Opportunity work for ten years. She eventually became the EO manager for three hospitals in Boston. Finally, she moved to the cape and met her husband. It is so clear that Linda has committed her entire life to advocating for others and helping to create equal opportunities for everyone. Considering her incredible backstory it makes so much sense why she would want to help students and others on the Cape achieve their educational and employment goals. We are so incredibly lucky to have residents like Linda Bryant.