Alpha Psi Boulé Establishes Scholarship Fund for African-American Men in Hartford

The best gift, it is said, is the one that keeps on giving.  So it is with the Alpha Psi Boulé scholarship fund, recently established at the Hartford Foundation for Public Giving.  Local members of the national Sigma Pi Phi fraternity created the fund to invest in the academic futures of high-achieving graduates of Weaver High School.

Annual scholarships will be made to promising young African-American men whose high school performance is likely to lead to continued success at the college level, who have undertaken volunteer, community service or other extracurricular activities, and who are entering a four-year college on a full-time basis. “It is our hope that this scholarship fund will benefit young men who see themselves as future leaders and professionals,” said Boake Plessy, Immediate Past Sire Archon.  “We want to encourage young people, especially African-American men, to set goals for themselves and to work toward them for both their own success and the betterment of our society.”

“The Hartford Foundation is pleased to partner with this fraternity to help young African-American men afford a college education,” said Linda J. Kelly, president, Hartford Foundation for Public Giving.  “This fits perfectly with our mission to improve the quality of life for people in Greater Hartford.”

Founded in 1904 in Philadelphia, Sigma Pi Phi is the oldest Greek-letter fraternity among African Americans in the U.S.  Its members are professional men of achievement who contribute their talents and resources to raising the quality of life for all black people.  Encouraging and supporting talented young people is a key element of their efforts.  Members of Sigma Pi Phi have included W.E.B. DuBois, Martin Luther King, Jr., former Secretary of Commerce Ron Brown, Morehouse College President Benjamin Mays, and many other notable professionals. 

The fraternity’s Hartford chapter, Alpha Psi Boulé (literally “the will,” after the name for the legislative council of ancient Greece), was chartered in 1971 as the first in New England.  In 1985, it adopted a social action program of awarding books to worthy high school students.  Currently, about 12 men are members, including Lewis Robinson, who is also the vice chair of the Hartford Foundation for Public Giving’s board of directors. 

This scholarship fund marks the 75th such fund established at the Hartford Foundation.  Scholarship funds at the Foundation are permanent endowments, which means that each scholarship will be awarded forever.  Contributions to the Alpha Psi Boulé fund are pooled with 37 other scholarship funds so that each scholarship award is $2,500 and renewable for three years.  The first award from this fund will be awarded in the spring of 2007.

The goal of the Hartford Foundation Scholarship Program is to assist students from the 29-town Greater Hartford region to attend the college of their choice.  Each year, the Foundation awards approximately $900,000 in scholarships to about 400 traditional-aged students and adult learners at four-year and two-year colleges, as well as local community colleges. 

Hartford Foundation for Public Giving is the community foundation for the 29-town Capital Region.  For over 80 years, it has built successful partnerships with donors and nonprofits to enhance the quality of life for people in the community.  With assets of more than $700 million, the Foundation receives gifts from thousands of generous individuals and families and awards about $24 million in grants each year to a broad range of nonprofit organizations.  For more information about the Foundation, visit www.hfpg.org or call 860-548-1888.