Applications are now being accepted for graduating seniors of Haitian heritage who are enrolled in a Lee County School.

The Haitian-American Community Coalition of Southwest Florida will provide four $1,500 scholarships.

The Haitian-American Community Coalition of Southwest Florida, formerly the Haitian-American Democratic Club, was founded in August 2015.

“The mission of the organization is to improve the quality of life of the local Haitian-American community by promoting social justice and human rights. HACC cares deeply about education as a steppingstone to success. In 2017 the group awarded three $500 scholarships to Lee County graduating seniors of Haitian heritage,” Scholarship Chair Betsy Vaughn said.

The first fundraising gala to fund scholarships was in 2018, which raised the amount provided to students to $1,000 followed by $1,500 each in 2022. So far HACC has provided more than $24,000 in scholarships.

This year, four $1,500 scholarships will be provided.

“Over the years we have received many amazing stories of ambition/hard work,”Vaughn said. “Especially impressive are the students who came to the U.S. as middle school students speaking no English and wound up at the top of their high school class.”

Students who are of Haitian-American heritage can submit an application. They must be a graduating senior at a Lee County high school, who is enrolled in or will be enrolled in a degree or certification program at a technical college, state college or university by Sept. 1.

Two letters of recommendation from a teacher, coach, administrator, or school counselor must also be included, as well as a school transcript with grades through the fall 2023 semester.

The student must also write a 300-500-word personal essay as a response to the questions what are your short- and long-term educational and career goals and how have your goals for your future been shaped by your life experiences?

The deadline for submission is April 3. The application must be mailed by April 1 to Haitian-American Community Coalition of Southwest Florida, 3949 Evans Ave., Suite 304, Fort Myers, FL 33901.

The announcement of the scholarship recipients will be made on or before May 1.

Questions can be emailed to esv460@gmail.com.