PURPOSE
The purpose of the Gay Street School Alumni Club Scholarship Fund is to make scholarship distributions for charitable purposes to graduating West Chester Area School District Seniors, as recommended by the Fund Advisors and approved by the Board of the Community Foundation. This scholarship goes to a deserving student based on financial need. Recipients must have a 2.5 GPA or higher and they must be an active member of the Black Student Union at their high school.
BACKGROUND
The Gay Street School’s history is one of adversity and pride within the African-American Community in West Chester, PA. The Gay Street School was a segregated elementary school in West Chester that operated in this capacity from 1895 to 1957. Integration came to West Chester in 1954 and the school took the name of a beloved principal, Joseph Fugett, who led a motivated faculty for many years.
To commemorate the pride and spirit of the school, faculty, staff, and students, the Gay Street School Alumni Club was formed. Most Gay Street School Alumni Club members attended the school during a time in West Chester when the schools were segregated. The school personifies the misnomer of separate but equal; the faculty that taught at the school managed to provide a solid educational foundation to the students, and their earnest care for their well-being was more than evident.
The Gay Street School Alumni Club is dedicated to awarding scholarships, primarily to young Black men and women graduating from high schools in West Chester. According to long-time past president Alfreda Johnson, the Gay Street School Alumni Club “was created to give financial aid to minorities to help them further their education.”
DONATE
or
Mail a check made payable to:
Gay Street School Alumni Club Scholarship Fund c/o CCCF
28 West Market Street
West Chester, PA 19382