Students at Bluefield College are continuing to get vital financial aid, thanks to the longstanding generosity of the Credit Bureau of the Virginias Foundation.
For more than a decade, the Foundation has donated scholarship money to Bluefield College students — this time a $10,000 check to provide scholarships to BC students during the 2017-2018 academic year.
“We are so appreciative of the continual support we receive from the Credit Bureau of the Virginias Foundation,” said Ruth Blankenship, BC’s vice president for advancement. “They are a faithful supporter of the mission of Bluefield College and the students we serve. Without their support, who knows how many students might not have had the opportunity to receive higher education.”
The Credit Bureau of the Virginias Foundation established its scholarship fund at Bluefield College in 2003. Since then, the organization has contributed more than $100,000 to the trust.
“Our primary goal is to help the so-called average student, the student who may not get access to a lot of academic scholarships,” said Jimmy Welch, executive director of the Foundation, who presented the scholarship check to BC fundraisers. “Our scholarships are designed to serve post-high school, educational endeavors of the average student from the former trade areas of the Credit Bureau of the Virginias.”
The Credit Bureau of the Virginias Foundation was established through the sell of the Credit Bureau of the Virginias, formerly known as the Bluefield Credit Bureau. It was created, according to Welch, to “promote the quality of life within the former trade area of the Credit Bureau of the Virginias by supporting local charitable, scientific and educational needs.”
“How appropriate,” Blankenship said, “that an organization that built its business from the people and merchants from the Bluefield area should now turn around and give back to those very people. The Credit Bureau grew from its business with the people of this area, and now it will return the benefit through investments in higher education.”
The primary purpose of the Credit Bureau Foundation scholarships at Bluefield College is to assist average students who demonstrate need in obtaining a degree. The awards are available to recipients through graduation, provided they continue to meet scholarship and need criteria.
“We get a lot of thank you notes from students at Bluefield College,” said Welch, a former executive vice president for the Credit Bureau of the Virginias, “and many of the students’ notes say, ‘we would not be at Bluefield College without the Credit Bureau scholarship.’”
Recipients of Credit Bureau awards must be residents of the former trade area of the Credit Bureau of the Virginias, including nine counties in southwestern Virginia and southern West Virginia.