Kaninika Dey
When the Belmont High School Class of 1959 met at their 50-year high school reunion in 2009, they decided they wanted to do something to give back to their high school.
From those early discussions grew the Alumni and Friends of Belmont High School (AFBHS), a nonprofit that raises money for college scholarships for current Belmont High students
At their inaugural Awards Ceremony in 2009, the group awarded $10,000 in the form of four $2,500 scholarships, according to Erich Ippen, treasurer of the alumni group. Over the years, the board and its fundraising initiatives have expanded to encompass a broad spectrum of alumni classes and supportive Belmont residents.
This spring the organization awarded $44,000 in college scholarships– the largest amount in the group’s history.
“We are the only organization that has built an endowment for the school,” Ippen said, “We will give away at least as many (scholarships given this year) next year and we have already put together an endowment of about a million dollars for the high school.”
The students are selected for the scholarship through a committee formed at Belmont High School, consisting of teachers and guidance counselors. Students are asked to fill out an application with their basic information, activities they have been a part of, their leadership roles and financial needs according to Sarah Winn, Assistant Principal of Belmont High School.
“The challenge is to select students because we wish we could give out scholarship money to every student with how much college is costing these days,” Winn said, “However, I think we do a pretty good job of understanding who the students who applied are and really kind of identifying students who fit the criteria.”
The nonprofitalso provides an opportunity for alumni classes and individuals to establish endowed named scholarships when they’ve reached $50,000 in donations, according to Ippen. Five alumni classes have done it so far. One such scholarship, awarded for the first time this year, honors Thomas J. Noonan ’92, a world-renowned ski diver who tragically passed away while attempting a record-setting high-altitude dive. Other named scholarships honor former athletic director T. Meldon (“Mel”) Wenner, former English department head Evelyn Hornsey, and 1969 alumna Nancy Schneider Bushinsky.
The group’s widely dispersed board meets regularly both in person and via Zoom. Robert. F. Foley, based in Washington DC, serves as the honorary chair; Peter Leofanti, ’58, residing in Topsfield, is the president; Susan Orowan Martin manages mailings and the database from her home on the Cape and Erich Ippen, ’58, from Belmont, serves as Treasurer.
The board also includes former Select Board member Angelo Firenze, former BHS principal Foster Wright and several Belmont residents.
Ippen, who has been involved in the organization since the beginning attributes the organization’s exponential growth to their persistence.
“We are also steadily adding more alumni classes and we are getting increasing support from some people in the town,” Ippen added. “We just think more people should know about us because Belmont is woefully behind compared to other neighboring towns.”
To learn more about AFBHS and ways to get involved, visit https://afbhs.org/
