It’s that time of year again — time for the Class of 2015 to think about applying for scholarships for college. As always, the Elks are here to help with three scholarship programs.

Between the Most Valuable Student Scholarships, Elks Legacy Awards and the Emergency Educational Grant Program, the Elks will award more than $3.6 million this year to high school seniors around the nation to further their educations.

For high seniors attending Frankfort, Franklin County and Western Hills High Schools, our lodge will be awarding six $500 scholarships to members of the Class of 2015 from these schools. To apply for these awards, simply complete the Most Valuable Student application (linked below) and the Lodge Scholarship Committee will determine the recipients of these awards as part of the judging of those applications.

In addition to these local scholarships, the national Elks organization offers scholarships as well, and you don’t have to live in Franklin County to qualify! Interested? here’s a little bit about each program.

• Most Valuable Student (MVS) Scholarships: The MVS program is the largest scholarship program of the Elks and is open to all seniors in the Class of 2015. Five hundred awards are given, ranging from the two top prizes of $60,000 over four years, down to 482 runner-up awards of $4,000 over four years. Applicants for the MVS program must fill out applications and submit them to the lodge for local judging. Applications will be available online only on September 1 at http://www.elks.org/enf/scholars/mvs.cfm. Information cards regarding the program are available at the lodge. Applications are due at the lodge by December 5, 2014.
• ENF Legacy Awards: Legacy awards are four year, $4,000 awards given to children and grandchildren of Elks in good standing who joined the order on or before April 1, 2012. Two hundred and fifty awards will be given nation-wide to the Class of 2015, of which, Kentucky will receive a maximum of three. Applications for Legacy Awards are online only, and will be available September 1. The application must be completed by January 30, 2015. To apply, go to http://www.elks.org/enf/scholars/legacy.cfm and information sheets that should answer most questions are available at the lodge.
• Emergency Educational Grants are available to provide financial assistance to children of deceased or disabled Elks who wish to obtain or further their college education. The application process for these awards goes through the Lodge. Contact Frankfort Lodge’s Scholarship Chairman, John Snyder, for information about this program.

All of these scholarship applications are now available, but the deadlines are approaching fast. If you’d like to apply, please visit the links above. If you have any questions, please feel free to contact John Snyder at
502-330-3426 or by e-mail at jsnyder@fewpb.net.