Two twenty-something donors have established a $35,000 Ultimate Frisbee scholarship fund at the Pittsburgh Foundation to benefit an exemplary player from the Pittsburgh High School Ultimate League. The PHUL has 23 teams with 350 players representing 18 local high schools. The Pittsburgh Foundation is one of the nation’s largest community foundations.

The donors, Darren Schultz, 25, and David Vatz, 20, formed PHUL five years ago. Originally, their goal was to grow the fund to $100,000 over 10 years; they now believe that may be surpassed in less than two years.

A major condition for recipients of grants from their scholarship fund is that they must stay in the region and attend a local university. Ultimate Frisbee is a self-refereed field sport that combines elements of football, soccer and basketball,

“Young, intelligent and forward thinking individuals can have a huge impact in promoting the revitalization of Pittsburgh,” said Schultz, a sales engineer at Nortel and part-time graduate student at Carnegie Mellon University. “The most outstanding young leaders from our region are highly likely to be the individuals that go on to effect change. We want those young individuals to stay here and help Pittsburgh prosper, rather than go to school in a city like Boston or San Francisco.”

Schultz and Vatz had been recognizing one or two graduating players each year with a $50 or $100 check toward college. Then Vatz, a student at the University of Pittsburgh, came up with the idea of a larger, more permanent fund.

In May 2007, the innovative philanthropists plan to award a PHUL player the first grant from their fund, a four-year, $4,000 scholarship to attend a local university.

There were few sources they did not tap for money. They sold an estimated 17,000 ounces of Gatorade at sporting events and recruited young volunteers to collect change during high school study halls. They hosted special Ultimate Frisbee tournaments and even a large benefit specifically for the fund that raised more than $6,000.

Then they applied for and won a $12,000 grant from The Heinz Endowments, awarded in recognition of their efforts to keep talented young people in Pittsburgh.

Henry Thorne, founder of Pittsburgh-based Thorley Industries, developer of safety products for the home market and a Frisbee enthusiast, also added a sizable gift with a matching contribution.

Pittsburgh Foundation president and CEO William Trueheart called Schultz and Vatz’s initiative “an inspiration.”

“They are truly remarkable young men,” Trueheart said in a statement. “And I’m proud and honored to welcome them to the foundation’s donor family.”

This entry was posted by Taman Siswa on Tuesday, September 12, 2006 at 9:25 am and is filed under Education News, Scholarship. Tags: College, Grant, Scholarship, Student, Study, . You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.