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Community Corner

Riverdale Lions Club/Councilman Jonathan Ebbeler Scholarships

Riverdale Park, MD. August 29, 2013 -- The Riverdale Lions Club, teamed with Riverdale Park Ward 1 Councilman and Vice Mayor Jonathan Ebbeler, are accepting applications for the second annual Riverdale Lions Club-Ebbeler Scholarship awards. The program provides $1,000 scholarships to two area students to help further their educations. Students earning a 2.0 cumulative grade-point-average who have plans for furthering their education at a college, university or trade school and who have an established record of volunteer service are encouraged to apply for the funding.

 “There are young people in our communities who have earned their stripes to continue advancing their education but face significant financial hurdles,” says Ebbeler, who has been instrumental in encouraging young people to get involved with community service projects. “We want to encourage them to keep advancing their education and reward them for their work in the community.”

Patrick Prangley, a former Riverdale Park Town Administrator and Riverdale Lions’ “King Lion,” the local group’s top executive position, was instrumental in creating the scholarship program in 2012 and says  “it’s part of the Lions basic mission of service to the community: finding a need and fulfilling it.”

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The Riverdale Lions-Ebbeler scholarship program debuted last year. Kelsey Jarman, of Riverdale Park, and Semira Tesfai, of Hyattsville, each received $1,000 awards while Riverdale’s Andrew Waldron captured a bonus honorable mention award of $250.

The Lions Club International is a 96-year-old secular service organization with more than 1.3 million members world-wide and is perhaps best known for its work with the blind, the hearing and speech conservation, diabetes awareness and youth outreach programs. In 2012, the Riverdale Lions Club got eye exams and when necessary, glasses, for dozens of area youth and needy persons.

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Applications for funding must be submitted to the Lions Club in care of the Town of Riverdale Park, 5008 Queensbury Road, Riverdale Park, MD 20737, no later than Sept. 30. Awards will be presented at the annual Riverdale Park Day, Saturday, Oct. 5 in Riverside Park.

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