Although the Road Forward Scholarship Fund is only two years old, it is already making a difference. With a benefit, Cabaret for a Cause, coming up, the organization seeks to continue helping economically disadvantaged students not only go to college, but stay in college.
The organization was founded by Sherri Lippman, Heidi Siegel, Rivalyn Zweig, and Vivian Shapiro in October 2021, based on their experiences during the pandemic. At the time the group was working with the social justice committee at Temple Adas Israel in Sag Harbor.
In addition to the work they were doing to help the economically disadvantaged, they noticed many high school students coming in looking for help in preparing for college and also paying for it. This led them to create the scholarship fund, and in June 2022 they awarded one-year scholarships to three students. In August of last year, the group became an independent not-for-profit.
Ms. Shapiro, now a vice president of the organization, noticed, however, a need for more than just one-year scholarships.
"Children who may be financially insecure can drop out after the first year," she said. "In the second year so much of the money isn't there."
The organization adapted and grew, and in June of 2023 awarded six $10,000 four-year scholarships, meaning each year the students would have $2,500 put toward tuition.
According to U.S. News & World Report, 44 percent of graduating seniors from East Hampton to Hampton Bays are economically disadvantaged — "the unseen population," Ms. Shapiro calls them. "They are the children of the people we rely on constantly," she said. "Their families make our lives better, we have a responsibility to help their kids."
The organization also assists students while they are in school. "I run the mentoring program," Ms. Shapiro said. "I talk to all of them once a month," an effort to support those in the first generation of their families to go to college. "They call me when they don't understand a bill," she said, "they call me with class choices, they call me about tutoring."
The Road Forward Scholarship Fund is completely run by volunteers, from its board to this year's Cabaret for a Cause at LTV Studios in Wainscott on June 15 from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m., featuring catering, wine, and entertainment from two Broadway performers, Sal Viviano and Liz Larsen, and Danielia Cotton, a blues and rock musician.
For Ms. Shapiro, the fund is about giving students the support they need, so they can succeed and give back to their communities.
"They have to know that somebody believes in them," she said.
More information about the fund and the Cabaret for a Cause benefit can be found at roadforwardscholarship.org.