Three Student Veterans Earn Scholarships for Textbooks

The Better Business Bureau of Central New England is pleased to announce the award of $1,500 in textbook scholarships to local veteran students. Three students from Quinsigamond Community College were awarded $500 scholarships each from BBB of Central New England’s Consumer Education Foundation.

Congratulations to our three winners: Sean Ebbeling, Criminal Justice, Patrick Grubert, Engineering and Justin Linfield, General Studies.

Left to right: Justin Linfield, Patrick Grubert, and Sean Ebbeling.

“This is a joint venture the BBB and I have been working for more than a year,” said Paula Ogden, Director of Veterans Affairs at QCC. “I am very pleased we were able to work together to offer these textbook scholarships.”

Students may get financial aid but those funds don’t always cover textbooks, which can be expensive. This textbook scholarship helps cover those extra costs. The Veterans Affairs Office also offers a Textbook Loan Program, where certain textbooks are available for student veterans.

To be eligible for the textbook scholarship, students were asked to test their financial literacy with a savvy consumer quiz and subscribe to the bureau’s Trusted Scout Military Consumer Newsletter.

“BBB’s Military Line aims to educate military personnel on financial literacy and predatory business practices,” said Nancy B. Cahalen, President and CEO of the Better Business Bureau of Central New England. “By testing their financial literacy with a short quiz, our veteran applicants could gain insight into some of the helpful resources Military Line has to offer.”

Funded in part by BBB Accredited Business dues and in partnership with the U.S. Department of Defense Financial Readiness Campaign, Military Line works to increase the level of financial literacy within military communities and reduce the number of military personnel that fall victim to predatory practices such as high interest auto loans, expensive insurance sales, risky real estate deals and work from home scams. Specific programs include financial readiness training, fraud and scam alerts, company and charity reviews, and dispute resolution services. To learn more about the BBB Military Line, go to www.bbbmarketplacetrust.org

Hygiene Drive

The Veterans Club held a hygiene drive in the fall and donated products to Veterans Inc. in Worcester for their clients and families. Ms. Ogden thanked faculty, staff and students for donating to the drive. Members of the Veterans Club will join PTK members serving Thanksgiving dinner to clients at Veterans Inc. on Thanksgiving.

The Veterans Club also celebrated the birthday of the U.S. Navy on October 13. On that day in 1775, the Continental Congress established a small naval force that grew into the world’s most powerful Naval force today, including thousands of ships and aircraft worldwide.