Westchester Times Tribune, The Town Report
Friday, October 19, 2007
GENEROSO POPE FOUNDATION AWARDS $50,000 SCHOLARSHIP TO YONKERS HIGH SCHOOL SENIOR
RYEBROOK, NY – The Generoso Pope Foundation held its Second Annual Anthony J. Pope Memorial Scholarship Dinner at the Hilton Rye Town on Friday, October 5th. While the dinner was initiated last year in support of the Anthony J. Pope Memorial Scholarship Fund, but this was the first year the scholarship was awarded. Nearly five hundred guests attended the fundraiser in support of higher education for underprivileged high school students in Westchester County. The dinner included a charitable silent auction and special performance by freestyle group, The Cover Girls. The guests in attendance included many politicians, noted dignitaries, executives of other nonprofits, and many other members of the Westchester Community.
The Pope Foundation awarded honored guest, Rose Cali, the 2007 Generoso Pope Foundation Medal of Distinction for her endless and invaluable dedication to charitable causes. Cali expressed her gratitude for the award and urged the continuation of support for the educational fund.
The Pope Foundation gives many scholarships to deserving students on a regular basis. However, President and CEO, David Anthony Pope founded this scholarship in honor of his grandfather and predecessor, Anthony John Pope. Anthony Pope was a tireless philanthropist and mentor to so many. This particularly generous scholarship, which awards one college-bound senior $50,000 over four years of school, truly captures Anthony’s spirit of generosity. In addition, the recipient of the Anthony J. Pope Memorial Scholarship must have a minimum GPA of 3.2, possess competitive SAT scores, and be highly involved in community service. He or she must also be of at least 50% Italian heritage and take interest in their Italian heritage.
The recipient of the first Anthony J. Pope Memorial Scholarship is Ralph Esposito, Jr., an honors student in the rigorous International Baccalaureate program at Yonkers High School. Esposito’s impressive resume includes a 4.0 GPA and membership in both the National Honors Society and the National Italian Honors Society. Esposito accepted the award, addressing the attendees proudly, yet humbly in both English and Italian. The perceptive teen is determined to pursue a career as a nutritionist and naturopathic doctor after observing the lifestyle of his family in Italy.
True to his commitment to scholarship, service, and culture, Esposito has already signed on to volunteer at the newly opened Westchester Italian Cultural Center, located in the beautiful Generoso Pope Foundation building in Tuckahoe. David Pope said of Esposito and the Anthony J. Pope Memorial Scholarship, “He is a tremendous example of what young people can aspire to and a real tribute to my grandfather’s memory. It’s a wonderful thing to give an award of this magnitude – you know you are really impacting someone’s life.”
For more information on the Generoso Pope Foundation and its Anthony J. Pope Memorial Scholarship or the Westchester Italian Cultural Center, visit them on the web at gpfny.org and wiccny.org.
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