Making a Difference

The gift of 'Culture for Service':

The Scholarship Donor Appreciation Event, in it's sixth year, brings together students and those who believe in them.

On March 31, 2009 Goshen College students met some very special people: individuals and families investing not only in their college studies but in their potential and future. The Goshen College "Scholarship Donor Appreciation Event" was created to recognize donors, but, importantly, to introduce these generous benefactors and the students who receive the scholarships they provide. By establishing the connection between the two, both can further see the living, enduring value of the gift of "Culture for Service" Christian higher education.

Future missionaries benefit from scholarship

Since the Clarence and Genevieve Swallen Missionary Scholarship Fund was established in 1988, 384 students have received almost $420,000 in assistance. The scholarship, one of two specifically for those planning to do mission work, gives crucial assistance to students going into a field that offers low financial return but invaluable assets to the future of the church.

The late Clarence Swallen of Canton, Ohio, wanted to help young people who plan to go into missions in this country or overseas, or international students who come to the U.S. to study and plan to return to their own countries as mission workers. The scholarship was an expression of his gratitude to God for his wife Genevieve’s life and the financial and personal success he enjoyed while working at American Gas and Electric Co. throughout his life.

Story excerpted from summer 2003 issue of the Heritage newsletter.