52577 Scholarship Receives Donation While Looking For The Next Leaders

Vernie Wells shares why it was important for him to be a part of the 52577 Scholarship Fund.

Oskaloosa, Iowa – The 52577 Scholarship can trace its roots back to December of 2006 when a lead donor opened a fund with Edward Jones with a $10,000 donation after several classmates had just celebrated their 30th class reunion.

By December of 2007, the balance had swollen to $51,000, growing to $129,362.00 as of December 2013. Today, there is nearly a quarter of a million dollars in that fund to help sustain it into the future.

“We decided we wanted to give back to our high school,” says David Ahmad, one of the original donors to the scholarship fund. “There are five of us, only one of those people lives in Oskaloosa today. Three were born here. Only one of them very soon has family ties here.”

“We had a tailwind growing up here,” said Ahmad of his youth in Oskaloosa. “And that tailwind was, we had parents that gave us good values, we had teachers, we had community support. We all could get jobs here. So we had an advantage. We took advantage of that, of what we were given.”

“Dave Oster, Bob Schultze, and John Lowe are key contributors of this,” added Ahmad, who is joined by Jeff Smith as founding members of the scholarship, which started over dinner one evening before their 30th class reunion.

The 52577 Scholarship, which got its name from the date the scholarship founders graduated, and of course the town’s zip code, was created to help young people from Oskaloosa find the same opportunities they were given.

Since 2007, 37 awards have been given totaling $120,000.

One more person saw the value in the 52577 Scholarship, Vernon Wells.

Wells has been helping to provide scholarships to Oskaloosa students for years, and he was looking for a vehicle that would continue that legacy into the future.

Wells has funded Building Trades Scholarships since 2012, with 6 awards given out for more than $12,000.

With the addition of Wells’ gifts, the group is now reaching out to all past Oskaloosa Alumni to help make that fund relevant, not just into the near future, but for generations to come.

“We want anybody or any class to be able to donate to this to give others opportunity,” said Ahmad. “So Vernie’s making a $100,000 contribution to this scholarship.”

“If you think of it in real simple numbers. If we have 50 people give a dollar a day for three years, that’s a thousand dollars,” explained Ahmad. “If we had 40 classes do that over 40 years, you’d have 2 million dollars. So now you have something where virtually any student that wants to go for more education, to have an opportunity, can, because we know that creates opportunity and a better life for them and their family. Almost anybody can get some money because most people don’t need all the money, they just need some.”

“This is a big step for us by having $100,000 donated to raise that awareness,” said Ahmad.

Smith said that the scholarship is a way for them to give back to the community. “We’ve all had successful careers, and we had a great education at school. My fondest memories of growing up are just the friends I have. My closest friends are from high school and not college, for me personally.”

Speaking of his friends that no longer live in the community, but continue to be a part of the scholarship, “it is a real testament to how they feel their life was enriched by being in Oskaloosa.”

From the newest contributor to those who helped start the scholarship, the goal now is to increase the financial backing of the scholarship. “So not just a few kids could get scholarships, but maybe that all kids could receive scholarship money would be the ultimate goal,” added Smith.

Wells, who has generously helped to provide scholarships, became aware of the 52577 Scholarship and decided to be a part of it, versus trying to develop something new.”

Wells’ daughter, Dede Horn, said, “We’re taking advantage of the 52577 and we would like to challenge and ask other people to come in and grow the money also.”

“We can’t pay it back, so we’re paying it forward,” added Horn.

The group hopes to have the different classes from Oskaloosa High School contribute, and be a part of the scholarship.

The 52577 Scholarship is a tax-deductible non-profit. If you are interested in donating to the scholarship fund, make your check out to 52577 Scholarship and mail your check to: Jeff Smith, 1807 Edmundson Drive, Oskaloosa, Iowa.

If you have further questions, you can contact Jeff Smith locally.

“We feel confident that we’ve created something that’s sustainable, that will go beyond our contributions,” added Ahmad as they look for those next individuals to help lead the scholarship into the future.