Montgomery County High School has introduced a new scholarship for this year’s graduates who are planning to attend college for the 2024-25 school year.

It is called the MCR-II Bright Light Scholarship. It has pending 501 (c)(3) status and all contributions are expected to be tax-deductible.

Kista River and Joe Garrett are two of the members on the committee. They discussed the scholarship during a Montgomery City Kiwanis meeting on March 12.

“This is an academic scholarship that is designed to help our local graduates who want to pursue a higher education and is not strictly limited to four-year colleges, two-year colleges, trade schools or vocational schools,” River said. We’re really hoping for kiddos who have worked hard will set themselves up to achieve some kind of higher education. We are community funded. We are not small-business funded in a lot of ways.”

“We really have a dynamic group of people on this committee and anyone who is interested in joining the committee can join,” Garrett said. “It’s predominantly young people.”

A donkey basketball fundraiser will be held at 4 p.m. on April 7 at MCHS to help raise funds for the scholarship.

The scholarship gives Montgomery County residents an opportunity to become an annual member with donations of either $100, $250, $500 or any other amount.

Anyone who donates $1,000 or more will become a platinum sponsor. The donation guarantees a display of his or her company name and logo and announced recognition at an annual fundraising event.

In order to become a gold sponsor, a person must donate at least $500. This membership will guarantee a display of his or her company name at an annual fundraising event.

Donations can be made through PayPal or Venmo or by mailing a check or cash to MCR-II Bright Light, 458 Rose Street, Montgomery City, MO 63361.

For more information on the scholarship, contact MCRIIBrightLightScholarship@gmail.com.