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Civitan Club of Jacksonville endows $28,600 scholarship fund to Jacksonville University

By Kevin Hogencamp/Jacksonville University

Seventy years ago, the Civitan Club of Jacksonville raised $20,000 to buy property to move Jacksonville Junior College – which later would become Jacksonville University – from downtown to Riverside. Then, the club immediately raised another $30,000 for renovations and outfitting classrooms.

“The Civitan Club has always had a special place in our heart for JU,” said George Revels, a member of the organization since 1980.

In recognition of the significant role the Civitan Club of Jacksonville had in the early development of Jacksonville University, the civic organization is creating a $28,600 endowed scholarship for JU students. Civitan Club members presented the endowment Wednesday, June 26, to JU President Tim Cost; club member John Layton will serve on the scholarship selection committee.

Students with financial need who work to help pay for their education will be eligible for the scholarship.

“We have a long history of service in this community and are fortunate to still be able to make a difference with this endowment,” Revels said.

Civitan Club of Jacksonville members presented a $28,600 Jacksonville University scholarship endowment Wednesday, June 26 to JU President Tim Cost. Pictured are, from left, Civitan members John Layton and George Revels; Cost; and Civitan members Harry Pierce and George Carswell. (Photos by Kevin Hogencamp/Jacksonville University)

The Civitan Club scholarships will be awarded based on the distributed earnings of the endowment, which will enable JU to provide about $1,400 annually for students to use toward books, housing or other education-related needs. The Civitan Club and its members may make additional gifts to the endowment – thus, increasing the amount that may be awarded annually — in the future.

“We are extremely grateful to the Civitan Club of Jacksonville and its members for their longstanding partnership with Jacksonville University,” Cost said. “Because this scholarship endowment benefits hardworking innovators, leaders and dreamers of tomorrow, it’s an investment not just in JU, but in the community as a whole. We pledge to continue to be good stewards of the Civitan Club’s kind, generous support of JU and its students.”

In addition to its numerous other community service endeavors, the Civitan Club of  Jacksonville, which became Florida’s first Civitan club and the United States’ 10th Civitan club when it formed in 1920, has been providing college scholarships to local students for decades.

For information about the Civitan Club’s JU scholarship program, call (904) 256-7716.