Vicky Lin graduated from Dover High School last year with a dream to pursue a career in dermatology. She is currently working on a pre-med track at Stonybrook University with support from the Northeast Dutchess Scholarship Fund. “My appreciation for this scholarship cannot be described with words. It will relieve a tremendous amount of financial stress as I pursue higher-level education,” she said, noting she plans to show her gratitude through public service.

For nearly 10 years, BTCF’s Northeast Dutchess Scholarship Fund has awarded renewable four-year scholarships to graduates of Dover, Millbrook, Stissing Mountain and Webutuck high schools to help them on their pathway to success. To date, 19 students like Vicky have received up to $5,000 per year thanks to the extraordinary generosity of donors and the tireless work of local community members who sit on the fund’s advisory committee.

The Northeast Dutchess Scholarship Fund launched in 2014 with a $100,000 gift from Nancy Perkins of Millbrook. She made donations to the fund’s endowment every year prior to her death in 2022. Nancy and her late husband, George, were always discreet benefactors of the region through their philanthropy. “We do as much as necessary. Family giving was a part of life. We’ve always helped, and felt an obligation to give back,” Perkins previously said. As part of her estate planning, she left a bequest to BTCF to establish a new donor advised fund that continues to support these scholarships, as well as numerous nonprofits in northeast Dutchess County.

“We are so pleased to continue the foundational charitable giving that Nancy did personally and quietly for so many years,” said David Stack, who is an advisor of Perkins’s donor advised fund. “She was deeply committed to strengthening this community and did so in so many ways. Her longtime and anonymous support for the Northeast Dutchess Scholarship Fund was of special importance to her, and it is our privilege to continue that today.”

Robert Wilder of Stanfordville made two substantial gifts totaling $200,000 in 2021 and 2022 to ensure that 10 area students will receive funding throughout their four years of college. His generosity doubled the amount of awards offered since the scholarship’s inception. “Education provides the tools, life skills and self-discipline to help kids get better jobs and be better citizens,” he said after making his first donation.

Webutuck graduate Carrissa Whitehead received a Wilder-funded scholarship last year to study math at Columbia University. “My goal of becoming a mathematics professor will take many years of school, as I need to obtain a Ph.D. This will lower the number of hours I will need to work during my studies and allow me to have more time to gain experiences through internships,” she said. “I am truly grateful for your support.”