The Men of Essence Foundation is now accepting applications for its 2010 LGBT Scholarship Award, and applications are available online at EssenceMen.org.
Those eligible for the scholarship are LGBT students — or students under the care of an LGBT guardian or parent — ages 17-25, pursuing a degree at an accredited institution of higher learning in the U.S. Eligible applicants must maintain a grade-point average of 2.5 or higher.
In 2009, Men of Essence awarded a $2,000 scholarship to Reginald Jones, who is now a freshman at Prairie View A&M University where he is majoring in business management. His minor is finance.
Jones is on the Prairie View cheerleading team, and is on track to become a member of the American Cheerleading Association where he will judge cheerleading competitions and host cheerleading summer camps around the country.
Jones is also part of Go Green, a recycling program on the Prairie View campus.
Jones said the Men of Essence scholarship has been invaluable to him over the past year as he has started his education at Prairie View.
"It gave me the opportunity to get my textbooks on time, and I had a great start at Prairie View without having to take any money out of pocket for expenses," he said. "It has really helped me so much."
Men of Essence is dedicated to demonstrating the potential in the LGBT community of color and helping the community reach that potential. The organization also strives to encourage education in the community at large to fight against ignorance and intolerance. •
For more information or to donate to the scholarship fund, go online to EssenceMen.org.
This article appeared in the Dallas Voice print edition February 19, 2010.