14 Scholarships to be Awarded at MLK Celebration, Sunday, January 7

Fourteen current college students and college-bound high school seniors will each receive a $1,000 scholarship at the 42nd annual Martin Luther King Scholarship Coalition Celebration, Sunday, January 7, 3:30 PM, at Christ Presbyterian Church, 1930 W. Walnut St, Milwaukee. A fellowship hour with refreshments will precede the celebration, starting at 2:45 PM. The 14 scholarship recipients will include students from six area congregations: Incarnation Lutheran, Immanuel Lutheran, Matters of the Heart Fellowship, New St, James United Methodist, Hephatha Lutheran, and Ascension Fellowship Church. The program is open to the public.

Inspirational speaker for the celebration will be Bryanna Wade-Gardner, New St. James United Methodist Community Church, a 2017 graduate of University of Wisconsin Milwaukee, and previous recipient of four MLK Scholarships. The 2018 Rev. Ernest Glenn Community Service Award will be presented to Rev. Kai McClinton, a United Methodist minister who has carried out youth ministry for over 30 years and who has supported the MLK Scholarship ever since receiving an MLK Scholarship herself in 1988. Top essay winners are: Elisha Branch, Hephatha Lutheran, and a junior at Mt. Mary University, and Whitney Riley, Hephatha Lutheran, and a 2018 graduate of Rufus King High School. The 2018 scholarship recipient who raised the most funds is Ella Hoerchner, Immanuel Lutheran, and a student at Milwaukee Area Technical College.

The MLK Scholarship Coalition was formed by three Milwaukee-area pastors in 1975, as a way to keep alive the prophetic legacy of Dr. King and to encourage young people to complete high school and to move on to post-high school education. The three founders include: Rev. Ernest Glenn, deceased Pastor Emeritus of Christ Presbyterian Church, Milwaukee; Rev. James Lyles, United Methodist pastor on regional staff in Milwaukee in 1975; Rev. Joseph Ellwanger, Pastor Emeritus, Cross Lutheran Church, Milwaukee, and currently assisting minister at Hephatha Lutheran Church, Milwaukee. The MLK Scholarship Coalition is an ecumenical collaborative currently consisting of 11 participating congregations. Scholarship recipients must be connected with a coalition member congregation, must write an essay related to Dr. King’s message, and are expected to raise $200 toward the scholarship fund.

Most of the funds for the MLK Scholarships are raised through the MLK Scholarship All-A-Thon, that takes place every year on the Saturday of the Memorial Day weekend in May. Since 1975 the MLK Scholarship Coalition has presented 648 scholarships, totaling $468,600, almost all of the funds coming from individuals and congregations in the central city of Milwaukee. Individuals, congregations, and businesses interested in contributing to the scholarships may make out checks to “CHURCH Inc.” (designating on lower left memo line “MLK Scholarship”) and send to: MLK Scholarship Coalition, 5464 N. Port Washington Rd. Box C168, Glendale, WI 53217. Contributions are tax-deductible.

NOTE: This press release was submitted to Urban Milwaukee and was not written by an Urban Milwaukee writer. While it is believed to be reliable, Urban Milwaukee does not guarantee its accuracy or completeness.

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