A small Rotary fundraising event over 70 years ago sets a community on the path to ensuring future generations of students have access to funds and options for higher education and better opportunities.

The Boothbay Region Student Aid Fund has its roots in the scholarship fund established by the Boothbay Harbor Rotary Club in March, 1957. The fund was for any worthwhile post high school education, with students being interviewed and grant recommendations being made to the Rotary Club Directors. Their first fund raising event was a combined beauty pageant and ball with a Portland based orchestra. The net result of this effort was $17. Over the next several years, Rotary made grants to students “away at school” and graduating seniors.

In the late 1950's and early 1960's there was aid available for local students coming from a variety of local organizations and possibly individuals. Criteria for an award was established by the giver. Groups like the Boothbay Harbor Rotary Club, Summer Residents Association, Daughters of the American Revolution and others extended scholarships on the basis of academic achievement or other standards established by their particular group. As well intentioned as these awards were and very helpful to recipients, there was little or no consistency within the community in standards on how an award was given.

At this time there were no awards based only on financial need. This was a disadvantage for the student who was capable of college work but couldn’t qualify for academic scholarships and/or lacked the funds for continued education. Another significant barrier was the culture of the times. A college education was not always seen as necessary by many families. There was also some reluctance to reveal financial information as it was thought to be nobody’s business. Many young people ceased their education upon receipt of their high school diploma.

Things began to change in the early 1960’s. After a brief stint as a classroom teacher, Marvin Rosenblum became the guidance counselor at BRHS. The position of guidance counselor, now very much an integral part of the academic landscape, was relatively new at this time. Rosenblum saw that all the guidance wasn’t worth anything if the student couldn’t afford to continue their education beyond high school. In 1962, fewer than 20% of the Boothbay Region's graduates went on to any post- secondary education.

This issue of lack of funding for higher education was also a concern shared by several education watchers in the community – Bud Logan, Dr. John Andrews and his wife Jeanne, officers of Canal Bank, and Bernie O’Donnell of Depositors Trust Bank, to name a few.

In April of 1964, a group of citizens looked into the proper procedure and created a need-based aid organization. June of that year saw the establishment of the Boothbay Region Scholarship Fund with Rotarians among the officers. Officers included Willian Danforth, President; Keith Walbridge, Vice President; Blanche Marshall, Secretary;and Ruth Dodge, Treasurer, with William Danforth, Bernard O’Donnell, Kenneth Walbridge, Marvin Rosenblum, Rev Allen Broyles, Ruth Dodge, and Blanche Marshall as Directors. Tax exempt status was also obtained from the IRS, recognizing the organization as a 501 (c)3 non-profit entity.

Early fundraising was done by the Mothers’ Marches. Every January for several years, 25-50 mothers (and fathers) from all over the Boothbay Region gathered in the Harbor to receive assignments and then literally went to march “door to door” in cold, ice and snow soliciting monies as part of the Student Aid Fund’s Annual Campaign.  

The march lasted about a week each year. While the funds raised were modest, the consciousness raised was amazing. The Mothers’ Marches were proof that community support was there. The message of these annual marches was simple – whether or not you have children, or whether your child is too young or has already graduated from high school, think of the next generation of children because this fund makes options possible.

On February 13th, 1978 the name of the fund was changed to the Boothbay Region Student Aid Fund, Inc.

Through the generosity of many local organizations and individuals, $3,500 was awarded to 10 graduates the first year (1964-65). In 1977 awards totaling $18,000 were given; in 1994 it was $50,000 in awards, and by 1999 the amount awarded had increased to $151,000. The year 2002 saw 90 grants totaling $180,276 awarded, while in 2019 the Fund provided $405,000 to 82 graduates and alumni. Over the years, community support has grown to include many businesses and foundations. The Boothbay Region Student Aid Fund has awarded $2,874,000 in grants during the past nine years from 2012-13 through 2020-21.