Scholarship committee gets $5K for food trailer

RUSSELLVILLE — A $5,000 grant from the Northwest Alabama Resource Conservation and Development Council (RC&D) helped the Franklin County Branch of the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Scholarship Committee purchase a 7- by 14-foot food trailer to expand its scholarship fundraising.

RC&D awarded the funding for the committee’s “Food Sales for Scholarships” project.

“With this trailer in service, we’ll be able to support our community and get our community involved in what we are doing and also give more scholarships,” Committee President William Nelson said during Friday’s RC&D grant presentation at the courthouse annex.

The committee raised $1,100 Friday through a fish fry held in partnership with Swamp John’s. Nelson said 220 plates were sold during the three-hour event.

“It went really well,” Nelson said. “A lot of people came through. A lot of people recognized what it was for, being a scholarship fundraiser.”

Swamp John’s provided and cooked the food. Nelson said the committee received $5 from each $15 plate.

Nelson said the committee generally sells between 200 and 250 plates during the fundraisers.

“It’s one of our better fundraisers that we do,” Nelson said.

He said the committee awards scholarships to qualifying Franklin County Schools seniors, regardless of race.

“Our mission is to keep the dream of Martin Luther King alive from one generation to another,” Nelson said.

The committee’s website, FranklinCountyMLK. org, states that applicants must demonstrate scholarship, character and community service.

Each scholarship provides $1,200 toward the recipient’s first year of college, distributed in two $600 payments.

The money raised remains in Franklin County to support the scholarship program, according to the website.

“By helping somebody’s child continue their education, it becomes a winwin situation for our community and our city,” Nelson said.