$7,000 raised for scholarship fund
Greene County residents have been opening their hearts and wallets to donate to a scholarship fund created in memory of Hope Maley of Waynesburg, who was killed in a traffic accident on March 13, the night before her 17th birthday. More than $7,000 has been raised from ticket sales for Saturday’s “Grocery Grab” at the Giant Eagle in Waynesburg and the sale of memorial bracelets.
The goal is to raise $10,000 for the scholarship fund so the first scholarships can be awarded to students in Waynesburg Central High School graduating class of 2008, which would have included Maley, said Andrew Corfont, assistant vice president of Community Bank in Waynesburg, where the scholarship fund has been created.
Scholarships could be offered to other Greene County schools if the fund grows, Corfont said, noting that interest from the account would be used for the scholarships.
Corfont said his daughter Rachael, who was close friends and played basketball with Maley, designed and sold hundreds of the bracelets that carry Maley’s name, birthday, the date of the accident, her “21” team number and “We Love You.”
He said the demand for the bracelets was so great that his daughter has placed several orders of 300. After Rachael explained what she was doing with the bracelets to the company that produces them, the company sold them to her at cost, he said.
“Isn’t it funny how you can learn from your children,” Corfont said.
Contributions to the scholarship fund also came from the sale of $5 tickets for the grocery grab.
The winner, Shirley Gasti of Carmichaels, will not be available Saturday so her granddaughter Nikki Gasti will have three minutes to grab as many groceries as she can on Saturday tentatively beginning at 1 p.m.
Donations to the Hope Maley Memorial Scholarship Fund can also be mailed to Community Bank, 100 Miller Lane, Waynesburg, Pa., 15370.
Maley died in a two-car accident on Route 218 in Franklin Township at 10 p.m. March 13.