2007 Annual Report - Greater Worcester Community Foundation
2007 Annual Report - Greater Worcester Community Foundation
2007 Annual Report - Greater Worcester Community Foundation
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Maureen Hendrickson Memorial Scholarship Fund<br />
A beloved teacher continues to touch young lives<br />
Maureen Henrickson Memorial Scholarship. “Sometimes<br />
the corn snake or guinea pig got loose, which raised<br />
havoc. We’d read in the Bat Cave—a desk under a black<br />
curtain—and organize food drives for the animal shelter.<br />
I gained my interest in science in Mrs. Henrickson’s class.<br />
She was a great teacher.”<br />
When Maureen Henrickson died of breast cancer in<br />
2003, her school was overwhelmed by grief—and a desire<br />
to honor her. Hundreds of small gifts poured in for a<br />
scholarship. “It just blossomed,” says Judy Rutelonis, who<br />
with fellow teacher Barbara Wrenn collected the gifts.<br />
Maureen’s friends raised money from raffles, bake sales,<br />
and craft fairs. Judy sold photographs of Sutton scenes<br />
like Waters Farm. On designated “Jeans Days,” teachers<br />
wore denim and donated $5 each toward the scholarship.<br />
By 2005, the school and its friends raised enough money<br />
to establish an endowed fund with the <strong>Foundation</strong> that<br />
will award an annual scholarship to a Sutton High School<br />
graduate in perpetuity. “Maureen will keep touching the<br />
lives of kids in Sutton,” says Judy.<br />
Maureen Henrickson’s fellow teachers celebrate her life with<br />
a scholarship.<br />
Maureen Henrickson taught third grade at Sutton<br />
Elementary School for 32 years. She inspired<br />
imagination, curiosity, and compassion in her students,<br />
who learned not just from books but also from her<br />
Noah’s Ark of animals.<br />
“We’d play with the animals and take them out at<br />
recess,” says Matthew D. Sampson, <strong>2007</strong> recipient of the<br />
Recipients need not be top scholars like Matthew.<br />
“Maureen always had an eye out for the underdog who<br />
needs a chance,” says Barbara.<br />
Giving people a chance to live longer and healthier<br />
lives motivates Matthew. Now in his first year at the<br />
University of Rhode Island, he plans a dual major in<br />
biomedical and electrical engineering. “New technologies<br />
are changing medicine,” says Matthew. “I hope to work in<br />
research that leads to cures.”<br />
Maureen Henrickson would be proud.<br />
M<br />
aureen will keep touching the lives of kids in Sutton.<br />
Judy Rutelonis<br />
On right: Sutton High School students show off the T-shirts<br />
they received from their cherished third-grade teacher.<br />
6 <strong>Greater</strong> <strong>Worcester</strong> <strong>Community</strong> <strong>Foundation</strong> • 07 ANNUAL REPORT