STRIVERS Inc. Scholarship Fund
The STRIVERS Inc. Scholarship Fund has recently been established to provide funds for those our program directly impacts. Our goal for the scholarship fund is to assist those individuals who have run with us, volunteered for us, participated in our races, or simply have a love of running as much as we do.
STRIVERS Inc.
We are a company bringing the best that running has to offer to your community. From health and wellness clubs for our youth, to support for local charitable organizations through our events, and finally proven successful leadership behind local road races. We specialize in girls youth running, local 5k road race development and production, and road race leadership and consultation.
Our mission is to positively impact communities by improving the health and wellness of it’s youth, supporting local charities, and delivering positive community events while fostering our life time love of running and showcasing the powerful impact runners can have on a community when they come together.
On the 10th Anniversary of STRIVERS Running Club for Girls, we proudly established The STRIVERS Inc. Scholarship Fund. This scholarship has been created to provide funds for those our program directly impacts. Our goal for the scholarship fund is to assist the young women who have run with us and or volunteered for us. Scholarship candidates will have exhibited a love of running, while inspiring others to run or have used their early running experiences with us to better themselves and the community where they reside. The STRIVERS Inc. Scholarship Fund will provide a one-time award up to $2,500 to one or more high school students pursuing a college education or trade school. In addition, funds will we awarded to runners and or projects that align with our mission.
Our scholarship will be awarded in May after careful review by our Scholarship Committee. Scholarships will be awarded for one academic year and payments will be made directly to the award winner to assist with tuition, books, and or fees for enrollment.
This scholarship also provides financial assistance to families who want to enroll their middle school daughters in the STRIVERS Running Club, helping to differ any monetary burden.
STRIVERS Inc. Scholarship Fund
Important Dates & Application Process
Application Due Date: April 19, 2024
Award(s) Announced: May 17, 2024
Eligible candidates include former STRIVERS, junior coaches, and female volunteers who have supported our program.
Scholarship(s) will be awarded up to $2,500.
Scholarship is a one time award.
Board of Directors
Colleen Phelps
Founder, STRIVERS Running Club for Girls
Kathy Landry
Senior Accounting Coordinator, New England Development Corporation
Jill Rizzotti
Attorney, Michael J. McHugh P.C.
Kelly Fattman
Founder/CEO, Fattman Productions
Maureen Filippine, MD
Pediatric Associates of Wellesley & Medfield
Scholarship Award Winners for 2023
Claire Eckelkamp
Boston College
“A passion that I found thanks to STRIVERS is community service and helping others.”
Madeleine Lewis
Frostburg State University
“One thing I admire about STRIVERS is how the coaches find ways to intertwine different lessons into a few months of running.”
Katherine O’Malley Luther
Scared Heart University
“My STRIVERS coaches crafted me into the best version of myself, and I am proud of how far I’ve come as a teammate, friend, and runner.”
Brooke Spiegel
Union College
“At STRIVERS, I learned about running form technique, strategies to make it through races, and how to fuel and prepare my body to run.”
Ava Sweet-Richardson
University of New Hampshire
“I had social anxiety and having the opportunity to be a STRIVERS ambassador improved my skills and helped me a lot.”
Scholarship Award Winners from Previous Years
2022
Emily Drum
Loyola University Maryland
Julianne Kelly
Westfield State University
Caroline Kidd
University of Vermont
2021
Nanna Atake
University of Vermont
Megan Cuddy
Wheaton College
Mary Dougherty
Marist College
Emma Forde
Merrimack College
Nicole Frail
High Point University
Mary McMahon
Georgetown University
2020
Megan Blair
Fairfield University
Juliana Green
University of Massachusetts
Katherine Kelly
University of Massachusetts
Sydney Rosenthal
University of Massachusetts
Camilla Samuel
Tufts University
2019
Paige Edwards
Syracuse University
Maeve Sheehy
Purdue University
STRIVERS Running Club Update
Dear STRIVERS Community,
After extensive thought and evaluation over the last year, I am writing to share the news that that the STRIVERS Running Club for Girls has concluded its final season. The time is right to retire the program and for me to express my deepest gratitude to all of you who have endlessly supported and trusted us with your daughters.
It has been an honor and joy to have shared my love of running and the numerous benefits running brings, from physical and mental health to long lasting friendships, with my community over the past 15 years.
STRIVERS Running Club for Girls has had the privilege of coaching over 1,000 girls. While many of our runners continued to run competitively in high school, and some in college, our highest level of gratification has come from watching our members increase their confidence and self-esteem through the simple act of running.
Our teams have met some of the best runners and role models including Uta Pippig, Joan Benoit Samuelson, and Becca Pizzi. They also met other athletes who shared their inspiring stories: Dara Torres, Noelle Lambert, and the late Travis Roy.
In addition to positively impacting the health and wellness of young girls, the STRIVERS program showcased the powerful impact runners can have on a community.
Since the program’s inception, STRIVERS donated hundreds of service hours and led numerous community outreach projects including food drives, back-pack collections, and town-wide clean ups in an effort to demonstrate the positive impact a group of runners can make on their community.
STRIVERS Running Club for Girls developed and hosted two local road races: the Annual Natick Jingle Bell Run and The STRIVERS Mother’s Day 5k that provided revenue back to the surrounding MetroWest Community totaling over $55,000.
We are proud to have established The STRIVERS Inc. Scholarship Fund, a 501(c)(3). Our fund awards scholarships to former STRIVERS to help fund their continuing educational costs. Since its inception in 2019, The STRIVERS Inc. Scholarship Fund has awarded a total of $30,500 to twenty-one recipients. We look forward to awarding future scholarships for as long as our fiscal funding lasts.
I am beyond grateful to my coaches; first and foremost to Kathy Landry and Laura Lapolla for their endless dedication, contributions, professionalism and enthusiasm all these years.
Finally, it is my deepest hope that we have inspired your daughters to continue to make running part of their healthy lives. It is impossible to overstate the powerful impact of the life lessons runnings provides, and how they can be beneficially applied to all areas of your daughters’ lives.
You will continue to see me running on the local roads and I thank your girls for always keeping me inspired and motivated.
Always Striving,
Coach Colleen
Want to support STRIVERS Inc.?
Donate today! We are a 501(c)(3) and your donation is tax deductible.
Write checks payable to:
STRIVERS Inc.
c/o Colleen Phelps
8 Deer Path, Natick, MA 01760