Bailey Family Foundation offers scholarships to Virginia graduating seniors
Oct. 21—BLUEFIELD, Va. — The Bailey Family Foundation is offering scholarships to graduating seniors from Graham High School, Richlands High School and Tazewell High School in Tazewell County and PikeView High School in Mercer County.
The Bailey Family Foundation gives scholarships to students descended from the Richard Bailey Family.
"I now know that there are Baileys in the Tazewell and Richlands areas, and they requested to include them in the scholarship," Lynn Burnette said. "The family has been doing scholarships for years. I taught at Springville and I really never knew all of the connections of the Baileys until after I completed my career and I got involved with the historical society."
She said that she also has learned that some Bailey family descendants have attended PikeView High School.
Burnette is a Bailey family descendent and retired teacher of nearly four decades.
Burnette encouraged graduating high school seniors to research their lineage to find if they are a Bailey family descendent, and therefore eligible for the scholarships from the foundation.
Resources are available at the Tazewell County Library at 129 Main Street, Tazewell, Va. Chris Wikes, a "local helper" of the Bailey Family Foundation can assist in research.
"At the library, Chris has all of these books and all of the materials, and the kids can find out from a family member which Bailey they are. Their older relatives usually supply that, then they can come to the library," Burnette said. "Chris will help them and show them their genealogy at the main library in Tazewell. They need to send him their descendent and he can go through it and get the information to fill in for the scholarship."
Applicants will also maintain a 2.0 average GPA and show a financial report in their application.
"They must have a high school diploma by the end of this year. They must apply between now and Jan. 21, 2022 to complete their application and get it to the Bailey Foundation," Burnette said. "Last year was the first year that I knew of where you had to be able to discuss your family finances because they are trying to help people who wouldn't have a chance to go to college."
Burnette said that having been a teacher for so many years, the education of local students is one of her top priorities.
"I taught school for 30 or 45 years in this area and you know that I am always going to help my babies," Burnette said.
To apply for a Bailey Family Foundation Scholarship, visit the foundation's website at bailey-family.org for more information. Students may also mail their applications to 912 W. Platt Street, Suite 200, Tampa, FL 33606-2114.
Students are also encouraged to call the foundation at 813-549-6140.
— Contact Greg Jordan at gjordan@bdtonline.com
Contact Greg Jordan at gjordan@bdtonline.com
