The initiative was made possible by The Bethel Church’s virtual “Scholarthon” on July 31. The event took the place of the church’s usual in-person walkathon fundraiser, which has been jeopardized for the past few years due to COVID-19.

 

View this post on Instagram

 

A post shared by The Bethel Church (@thebethelchurchjax)

“I came up with this creative idea to do a six-hour telethon for scholarships. This is our third year—every year it’s grown. This year, we raised over $115,000 and gave away 110 scholarships,” Bishop Rudolph McKissick Jr. proudly noted, according to News4JAX.

The lucky 110 students who received their scholarships on Sunday expressed gratitude for the financial assistance.

“For the church to be able to provide so many people with $1,000 scholarships, it helps so much with tuition and books and everything. Because even though we are still at a distance, we need resources and things like that,” Robert Williams, a scholarship recipient studying physical therapy at Florida A&M University (FAMU), said.

“For the church to be able to provide it for all the members, it’s just great. We really appreciate it,” he continued.

Seqoya Williams, another recipient who attends Florida State College, also commented on the church’s scholarship event.

“This check helps me,” she shared. “I have a daughter, so it helps me [by helping me] pay for classes as well as attend without worrying. I am very grateful for the Scholarthon. I’m so thankful that this church does things like this.”

“It’s really helpful and it really relieves the financial burden. I’m on scholarship already, but any additional money always counts because books are expensive,” Trinity Webster-Bass, a sophomore at Howard University who’s studying broadcast journalism, told the outlet. “Getting any money really helps.”

The Bethel Church is also helping out younger students, as the church will distribute backpacks at Andrew Robinson Elementary School on Aug. 13.