WS Chronicle

It’s that time of year again for the Ministers’ Conference of Winston-Salem and Vicinity (MCWSV) to crank up their fundraising efforts for their annual scholarships.  The scholarships are awarded to local seniors in the area heading to an institution of higher learning.

It has been a mission for the conference to invest in the lives of the local youth for many years now.  Hundreds of students have benefited from the scholarships over the years.

The conference receives funds from many of the member churches, along with holding the Martin Luther King Jr. service where they take a special collection for the scholarships.  Since 2013, the conference has given away a total of 57 scholarships totaling $50,500. 

To collect more funds and reach their goal of $15,000, Rev. Dr. Dennis Leach, second vice-president and former treasurer of the Ministers’ Conference, says the conference has been discussing making an appeal to the public for more funds.

“Bishop Fulton and I have been talking about making an appeal, so that others can contribute to the scholarship fund,” said Leach.  “We have averaged over $10,000 in scholarships over the last few years and we want to keep that momentum going.”

Leach spoke to the fact that when he came to the Ministers’ Conference years ago, the partnership with the conference saved the scholarship fund, so to speak.  He says that year, without the donations from The Chronicle; the conference would have only been able to give out one or two scholarships.

“The scholarship was really in decline, it really was, so it was a good partnership,” Leach said about the partnership between the Conference and The Chronicle.  

Over the years, Leach says it has been a tremendous blessing for the conference to help so many of our local youth.  He feels the best part of the scholarships is when the recipients come back and speak with the conference during the scholarship service to speak about how much help the scholarship provided them.

“The good thing is that we have been able to get them to come back at our services to talk about the impact the scholarship has made,” Leach continued.  “It is significant, and the students are very appreciative.”

Leach went on to talk about the guidelines that the conference has for the scholarships, but says they routinely go outside of those to assist more students when extra funds are available.  

For those who may be interested in donating to the scholarship fund, you may send donations addressed to the Conference to Emmanuel Baptist Church, 1075 Shalimar Drive, Winston-Salem, NC 27107, or visit Mechanics and Farmers back on MLK Drive.  All funds are welcome to help advance the lives of our local youth.