RISE campaign aims to raise $100,000

The University of North Georgia (UNG) is holding its fifth RISE Giving Campaign this fall, as it continues to highlight a small selection from the more than 500 philanthropic funds the UNG Foundation stewards.

The UNG RISE Giving Campaign aims to raise $100,000 from Oct. 1-30 for 20 projects supporting student scholarships.

"Every year we showcase a wide mix of scholarships," Alberto Perez, UNG's annual giving officer said. "This year we have scholarships that are close to endowment and others that are brand new."

One of the efforts this year was created by the family of lifelong educator Sandra H. Mercier, whose namesake scholarship supports students at UNG's Blue Ridge Campus pursuing a degree in Education.

"Sandra Mercier made a difference in the lives of students in north Georgia for many years and her scholarship will continue to make a difference in the lives of future educators in the county," Sandy Ott, Blue Ridge Campus executive director, said.

The McNair Scholars Program has started a new scholarship meant to support McNair students' transition to graduate studies. It seeks to raise $5,000 to help with the costs associated with the graduate admissions process and enrollment.

"The McNair Scholars Program supports first-generation or underrepresented undergraduate students who desire to attend graduate school," Crystal Toombs, program director of the McNair Program, said. "Our program clarifies the research and graduate school process, which reduces academic disparities by removing some of the barriers to academic success.”

The Martha Lu Scholarship is the first-created in the Phi Mu Scholarships Fund created to help active members. Martha Lu Woolfolk, the wife of former chemistry professor J. Byron Woolfolk and a Phi Mu, was a beloved first-grade teacher in Lumpkin County. She and Dr. Woolfolk dedicated their lives to supporting and uplifting the students and UNG, as well as students in the larger Dahlonega community. The Phi Mu fundraising committee hopes to endow the scholarship by March when the sorority's UNG chapter celebrates its 50th anniversary.

Other scholarships within the campaign include:

• Ag-Xperience Study Away Scholarship
• Barnett and Roberts-Betsch Nursing Endowed Scholarship
• Richard M. Prior Scholarship
• First Generation Scholarships
• The NGC Eagle Fund
• Class of 1969 David "Snake" Wood Scholarship
• Kathleen Ann Smith Nursing Scholarship
• First Gen UNG STEM Scholarship
• Music Scholarships
• Women's Educational Scholarship
• Kevin Jenrette NG'95 Memorial Scholarship
• NGC Class '75 Scholarship
• Athletic Training Symposium
• Kappa Delta Danielle Goss Scholarship
• Byron Woolfolk Endowed Scholarship in Analytical Chemistry
• International Military Internships and Cadet Exchanges
• National Intelligence Summer Academy