Loudoun County "Beat the Odds" Scholarship Program

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The attorneys at Biberaj & Snow, PC, the Loudoun Bar Association and other Loudoun agencies are involved in the following community project:

Giving our Youth a Better Chance for Success

(A Loudoun Bar Association Project)

In 2004, the Loudoun County Bar Association and other Loudoun County agencies proudly started the Loudoun County Chapter of the Beat the Odds® program for youth, a scholarship program designed to reward the achievement and success of at-risk youth in the community. Supported by several Loudoun County organizations, the program identifies local youth who have demonstrated the ability to succeed in spite of being at risk for failure because of their environment or life circumstances. The program seeks to improve their odds for success by providing financial awards to assist them in pursuing educational and vocational goals. Beat the Odds® is a nationally recognized project initiated in 1990 by the Children’s Defense Fund. The program celebrates the positive potential of youth who do well and succeed despite facing such problems as poverty, violence, homelessness, family breakup or substance abuse.

AWARDS CEREMONY! On May 22, 2008, the Loudoun Chapter of the Beat the Odds® held the 4th annual Loudoun County Beat the Odds® Scholarship Awards Ceremony at the Old Courthouse in downtown Leesburg. Five local youth were awarded scholarship money totaling $10,750.00 to assist them reaching their college education goals. The Beat the Odds® Scholarship Award winner this year was Seungman "Victor" Williams, a Senior at Dominion High School. Victor plans on attending either Bridgewater College or Glenville State University this fall. A Special Merit Award was given to Jessica Embrey of Freedom High School. Other Merit Award Winners are Alexandra Bentley of Loudoun Valley High School, Brandon Burke of Loudoun County High School, and Megan Gregory of Park View High School. All five students are graduating seniors.

The ceremony opened with an introduction by Judge Pamela Brooks of the Loudoun Juvenile and Domestic Relations Court, and then the students listened to Tom Maynard, Director of Loudoun MH/MR/SAS, speak to them about his own father’s struggles to achieve in spite of significant obstacles and the motivation it has provided in his own life. For the awards presentation, an nominator from each student's school spoke to the audience about the amazing qualities of each of their students. Each student was then asked to share part of their own story of what they have overcome. Those in attendance this year heard the students describe their inspiring battles to overcome hardships such as extreme poverty, homelessness, drug addicted family members, physical abuse, or removal from their families, while also maintaining strong academics and contributing to their families or local community.

*Read the inspiring story of our first Loudoun Beat the Odds Scholarship winner from 2005, Megan Bowie (2005 Loudoun Times-Mirror Article), the story on the 2007 Awards Ceremony in the Loudoun Connection Newspaper Article, and the Washington Post Article on our 2007 Beat the Odds Scholarship winner, Aleyna Castillo (2007 Washington Post Article).

CHARITY GOLF TOURNAMENT! Our 3rd annual charity golf tournament supporting the Beat the Odds® program was held on Thursday, September 20, 2007, at the South Riding Golf Club. (see the Golf Tournament Program!) This year's event was yet another success, raising over $7,000 for the Beat the Odds® scholarship fund. Thank you to all of our sponsors and players, with special thanks to our major sponsors: National Counseling Group, Inc., The Builders Foundation, and BOWA Builders, Inc., and to Becky Hanrahan with Weichert Realtors, Dulles Office, who provided the tournament flyers for us. Make sure that you don't miss out on this great event coming up in September 2008!

ELIGIBILITY: For the Beat the Odds® scholarship program, students must be clients or former clients of one of the following organizations or agencies: the Juvenile and Domestic Relations Court; the Juvenile Court Services Unit; the Department of Mental Health, Mental Retardation and Substance Abuse Services; the Community Services Board; or the Department of Social Services. Selected students must have displayed marked improvement in their grades, participated in community service activities and/or aided in the support of their family. They should be remarkable young men and women who show the potential to be valuable members of our community, if only given the opportunity. Applications for interested students are currently available at all Loudoun County high schools, with an application deadline in mid-April each year.

DONATIONS: The Beat the Odds® Committee is currently soliciting tax deductible donations of funds, goods, or services to support this new program. If you or your organization would like to donate to or sponsor this program or next year's golf tournament, please print and use the linked Donation Form, or feel free to contact Matt Snow at 703-779-2000 or snow@loudoun-lawyers.com. Any donations by check should be made payable to the "Loudoun Bar Foundation" with "Beat the Odds" in the notation.