![\"\"](\"http:\/\/thelehighacresgazette.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/05\/CHA-Sign.jpg\" "\\"CHA")
Community Health Association, Inc. (CHA), a private nonprofit foundation based in Lehigh Acres, made a $2 million commitment to Florida Gulf Coast University (FGCU) in support of scholarships.<\/p>\nCommunity Health Association, Inc. (CHA), a private nonprofit foundation based in Lehigh Acres, made a $2 million commitment to Florida Gulf Coast University (FGCU) in support of scholarships.<\/p>\n
For more than 45 years, the Community Health Association has been promoting health education and improving the quality of care in Southwest Florida.\u00a0 In this, its final year, CHA decided to create an unprecedented legacy at FGCU to benefit the community of Lehigh Acres, its residents and the field of healthcare.<\/p>\n
In 1998, CHA established a tuition assistance endowment with the Florida Gulf Coast University Foundation to support Lehigh Acres residents pursuing degrees in health-related fields. Since that endowment was established, more than $26,000 has been awarded to deserving students from the earnings of that invested fund.<\/p>\n
Today\u2019s $2 million gift–100 times more than the original gift–will significantly increase the good that the Community Health Association Scholarship Fund is accomplishing.<\/p>\n
To build on its past support for FGCU students, CHA board members asked that scholarships generated from this gift be \u201cmeaningful\u201d to the student\u2019s individual circumstances.\u00a0 At a minimum, the scholarships will help cover the costs of tuition, fees and books.<\/p>\n
These need-based scholarships will be awarded to students from Lehigh Acres who are in good academic standing at Florida Gulf Coast University.\u00a0 Priority will be given to students accepted into the Nursing Program, students enrolled in the other health-related degree programs within the College of Health Professions and Social Work, and students enrolled in the College of Education.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe are deeply grateful for CHA\u2019s long tradition of support as well as the board\u2019s foresight in anticipating\u00a0the long-term needs of the community,\u201d FGCU President Wilson G. Bradshaw said. \u201cThese scholarships will make a significant impact on the personal and professional lives of our students, while producing skilled graduates to meet regional workforce demands.\u201d<\/p>\n
By providing students with financial assistance and meaningful encouragement, CHA plays a vital role in ensuring their success at FGCU and in the professional world, according to Mitchell L. Cordova, Professor and Dean of the College of Health Professions and Social Work.<\/p>\n
\u201cFor many students, the cost of education is a difficult hurdle to overcome.\u00a0 With scholarships, dedicated students are able to better focus on learning and becoming the best healthcare professionals they can be,\u201d Cordova said. \u201cIt\u2019s not only the students and college that benefit, but also the healthcare industry and all of the community members it serves.\u201d<\/p>\n
Belinda Celestin, last year\u2019s recipient of the Community Health Association Scholarship, sent CHA a letter expressing sincere appreciation and excitement at the possibilities the scholarship affords her. \u201cIn my wildest dreams I never really thought I would get to become an actual nurse in my future.\u201d She ended her letter, describing her elation on the day she learned of the award, with, \u201cThat day will be forever ingrained in my memory due to all the emotions I was feeling: happy, ecstatic, disbelief, dreamlike, and just an all-encompassing reality that I would finally get to start the process of becoming what I want to be for the rest of my life.\u201d<\/p>\n
The FGCU Foundation supports the University\u2019s educational mission by securing and administering gifts on its behalf, managing its endowments and allocating funds that advance student achievement and enhance academic programs. For more information, call the Foundation at (239) 590-1067.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Community Health Association, Inc. (CHA), a private nonprofit foundation based in Lehigh Acres, made a $2 million commitment to Florida Gulf Coast University (FGCU) in support of scholarships. For more… <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":8,"featured_media":31063,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[57,32],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/thelehighacresgazette.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/31062"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/thelehighacresgazette.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/thelehighacresgazette.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thelehighacresgazette.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/8"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thelehighacresgazette.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=31062"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/thelehighacresgazette.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/31062\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thelehighacresgazette.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/31063"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/thelehighacresgazette.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=31062"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thelehighacresgazette.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=31062"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thelehighacresgazette.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=31062"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}