DGN Parents' Club to Hold Fundraiser at Ballydoyle

From the DGN Parents' Club:

The Parents’ Club’s April 20 scholarship fundraiser will help dreams come true for some of our most deserving students.

The Parents’ Club Scholarship Program provides financial assistance for education and training beyond high school – no matter what career path the student may choose -- and recognizes achievements beyond academics, such as special talents, leadership, obstacles overcome, unique endeavors and community service.

Colin Ludlow, one of 11 scholarship recipients last year, points out how valuable this is for Downers Grove North students. “Other scholarships -- national, regional and even community-wide -- are so incredibly competitive, the chances of winning are small. With this, it’s a local decision by people who may know something about you and can really understand what you’ve contributed.”

Another 2011 winner, Kirsten Keller, echoed his thoughts. “The Parents’ Club scholarship is attainable for more people, and sustainable within our small community. They try to help as many students as possible, and the award amounts are significant.”

Ludlow, known at North for his participation in choir, theater, speech team, and football said, “It was definitely a happy moment when I found out I’d won. I really needed the money.” Now at Grinnell College, a liberal arts school in Des Moines, Iowa, he is considering a dual major in sociology and political science, and possibly law school. “I want to be part of something greater than I am -- get involved in policy change and fight social injustice and inequality.”

Keller is a former flute and piccolo player in the North High Wind Ensemble, Marching Band and Chicago Youth Symphony Orchestra, staff member for the Omega student newspaper, and volunteer with several local and national organizations. She said the Parents’ Club scholarship “definitely helped ease some of the stress” about how to pay for tuition. She now majors in journalism at the University of Illinois-Urbana Champaign, works for the Daily Illini student paper and is a member of the Marching Illini band, her “most amazing experience so far.”

The “Rally @ Bally’s” fundraiser kicks off at 7 p.m. Friday, April 20, at , with a chance to win dozens of auction and raffle items, enjoy a variety of hearty appetizers, a cash bar, and live music beginning at 9 p.m. Auction items include a ThinkPad laptop computer, Disney World Parkhopper Passes, a Jake Peavy autographed baseball, 3-month membership to and dozens of gift certificates from local restaurants and boutiques.