NYS Volunteer Recruitment Service
Scholarship: 2006

Step 1: Ensure you meet the scholarship's eligibility requirements, per NYS.

Volunteer firefighters and ambulance personnel who:

• Have been New York State residents for at least one year.
• Are enrolled in an approved undergraduate degree program in New York State.
• Have a course load of at least six credits per term.
• If 23 years of age or older, have less than six months of volunteer service at time of initial award.
• If under 23 years of age, no minimum or maximum time of volunteer service is required at time of initial award.
• Are not in possession of a baccalaureate degree or higher.
• Are attending a college/institution within 50 miles of volunteer organization, or if no college is available within 50-mile limit, the nearest college/institution. Program of study is not a determining factor.
• Have a high school diploma or equivalent.
• Have applied for state and federal financial aid.

  NOTE: If there are any differences between what is written above and what NYS requires, obviously NYS's rules govern. The above is included as a convenience, and was copied from the NYS web site on 5/14/06. NYS's current regulations are available at www.hesc.org:

• NYS Volunteer Recruitment Service Scholarship

Step 2: Apply to the VVFC Board.

[A] Fill out your personal information portion of the NYS scholarship application. Submit it before Monday, July 24, 2006, 1700 hrs. A paper copy of the NYS scholarship application is expected (print PDF off and fill in appropriate portion by hand), and it can be left in Board Chairperson Oliver Habicht's mail slot at the VVFC fire station.
[According to NYS's web site, 5/14/06: Board members: 2006 Series Volunteer Recruitment Service Scholarship Applications were mailed to the volunteer organizations on March 10, 2006. But Oliver has seen it! Applications may be obtained by contacting the Scholarship Unit (1-888-697-4372). In 2004, NYS provided a PDF of the application. I ]

[B] Submit your essay to the VVFC Board. The VVFC, per NYS, may nominate up to one applicant for this scholarship every year, even while continuing the scholarships from previous years. The Board has decided to choose this year's applicant on the basis of an essay contest, as we've done in previous years. Essay contest rules appear below. Good luck!

Write a 400-750 word essay on the theme:

What I like about being (or look forward to by being) a Varna Volunteer Fire Company firefighter, fire police, or emergency medical service member.

The essay should be typed double-spaced and submitted electronically to Board Chairperson Oliver Habicht (oh10@cornell.edu) by Monday, July 24, 2006, 1700 hrs.