Kindness Scholarship

With a kid getting ready to go into high school next year, exploring financial aid options for college is not far from my mind. In order to help with the rising cost of a higher education, students are often awarded for academic achievement, athletic superiority, involvement in student government and extracurricular activities. But I had never heard of a scholarship based solely on kindness until I read about the Natasha Domeshek Kindness Scholarship. Though we are not from this community and my son is too young to qualify for the $50,000 award granted to a 2012 graduate of the Medfield High School in Massachusetts, the guidelines still intrigued me!

Natasha Domeshek died suddenly in 2002 at the age of eight. Her father and mother, David and Annie, wanted to mark what would have been her year of high school graduation by awarding one (or more) of her classmates a scholarship. The qualifications have nothing to do with athletic, academic, nor artistic achievement, but is based solely on kindness. What an amazing way to honor a loved one's life who was also known for her exemplary kindness.

The members of the Medfield, MA, community are asked to nominate a person known for their kindness. Then required to give examples of the student's kind acts on an online application form with other names of community members who can vouch for the nominee's selflessness.

I'm always humbled by folks who can take such a tragic event such as the death of a child, and celebrate that memory by helping others. And what better way to encourage such a positive characteristic as kindness in our youth! This town may have lost a kind soul, but because of David and Annie, her ripples of kindness continue to grow.

Photo credit: Natasha Domeshek from The Angel Run Foundation.