Since it's off-to-college time I want to thank professional advisors who help donors find

	Bertha and Joseph Harry

joy in making scholarships for students possible. This year Hampton Roads Community Foundation donors provided more than $1.27 million in scholarships for 400 college students -- most of them from Hampton Roads. This is the largest dollar amount and number of students in our 66-year history.

Some donors are like the late Joseph and Bertha Harry -- folks who never had the opportunity to attend college. The Harrys lived quietly in Norfolk's Norview neighborhood. Joseph was a grocer and rental property owner whose 1990 estate gift to the community foundation created the Joseph E. Harry and Bertha White Harry Scholarship Fund. He requested that it help area students attend either Old Dominion University or Virginia Wesleyan College.

Right now there are 39 Harry Scholars receiving $125,200 in scholarships because of Joseph and Bertha's generosity and foresight. Scholarships are renewable for up to four years of undergraduate study. While the Harrys may not have had children of their own, I like to think of all the Harry Scholarship recipients as their family members.

Meet former scholarship recipient Korinda Rusinyak of The Endependence Center

I hope you will take a few minutes to watch this short, inspiring video about one former Harry Scholar. You will see how Korinda Rusinyak of The Endependence Center helps others in our region lead better lives through her career and also her state and regional volunteer work.

If I can help you or a client find ways to change students' lives for the better through scholarships let me know.