“PABA GIVES BACK – How Scholarship Funds Support the LGBTQ Community”

"All young people, regardless of sexual orientation or identity, deserve a safe and supportive environment in which to achieve their full potential." ~ Harvey Milk

PABA’s August Luncheon will feature the announcement of the 2009 PABA Scholarship Award Winners.  We will have an opportunity to hear from our PABA Scholars directly:  to learn about their previous academic successes; their LGBTQ community involvement; and their future academic plans. 

The PABA Scholarship Program was established in 2005 to provide scholarships to students who are LGBTQ or are the children of LGBTQ families, who reside in Oregon or Southwest Washington and who need financial assistance to attain their post-secondary educational goals. Since 2005, PABA has distributed $12,500 in scholarship awards to eleven outstanding students (not counting this year’s awards).  PABA has been extremely fortunate to have the support of the PABA members in establishing the scholarship program and funding the scholarship awards, as well as Equity Foundation, the administrator of our Scholarship Funds. Please join us in recognizing and celebrating our new scholarship recipients!

Joining us to award our scholarship recipients is Special Guest Speaker Louise Chernin, Executive Director of Greater Seattle Business Association (GSBA), our sister LGBTQ Chamber of Commerce in Seattle.   GSBA has developed a model for scholarship programs that most LGBTQ Chambers of Commerce emulate across the nation, including PABA.  Louise will speak about GSBA’s innovative approach supporting LGBTQ students, why scholarship programs are important to our mission, and how these scholarship programs serve to connect us with the broader LGBTQ business community. Jerome Bader, Marketing Director for GSBA will also attend the August luncheon.