Thomsen-Baker-Telfer STEM Scholarship

2024 March

Wow, how the Fund has grown! The Fund was created in 1994 to honor Theodore E. Baker, son of Arlene Baker and William G. Telfer, son of Carol Telfer. Arlene and Carol each donated $1,000 to begin the fund. For a number of years $200 scholarships were awarded to 3 students, one each from Alief ISD, Houston ISD, and Spring Branch ISD. Today, the Thomsen-Baker-Telfer Scholarship Fund has $68,388,57 in CD’s and the checking account. This June we will give $3,500 to each of the 3 students. We will also pay for their meal and one guest to attend the June Luncheon.

Our thanks go to the many members who have made donations this year. Each donation is a commitment to educating young women in STEM. This month the Fund had many notable happenings. Leon and Pat Thomsen made another $10,000 donation to the Fund.

Mike Dach, who is retired from Chevron, made a donation for the Dach family (Pat). He then reached out to Chevron for the corporation’s matching donation. To receive the donation, paperwork was completed so the Thomsen-Baker-Telfer Scholarship Fund could be listed on the Blackbaud giving site. This is a world-wide site that is used by many corporations. Please contact Carolyn Morris if you need any help with matching donations. We have also discovered that many financial institutions offer matching grants. This spring, the Scholarship Fund will be setting up a committee to advise the Fund on how best to invest our endowment funds. We are looking for West Harris County members who are interested in being on this committee. Please contact Brenda Moss or Carolyn Morris if you are interested.

2024 February

Thomsen-Baker-Telfer Scholarship Fund Many thanks again to our members. We have met our $10,000 matching grant. And, we have had other generous donations. All donations count, large or small, and are appreciated. We will be awarding a $3,500 scholarship to each of 3 senior girls from Alief, Spring Branch and Houston ISD majoring in a STEM field and planning to attend a 4-year college.

Thanks to the efforts of members Jan Kerekgyarto and Anne Amador in securing a $3,000 donation from the First Congregational Church of Houston Endowment Board. Our scholarship application will be posted by Pamela Ossorio on our website from February 1 to April 15. After our evaluation and selection, it will be exciting to meet 3 college-bound girls at our June luncheon. Our 2023-2024 fundraising drive is a roaring success due to your generosity!

2023 October

Many thanks for the generous donations of our AAUW-WHC members. We met our $10,000 matching grant from our anonymous donor. We will be able to give college STEM scholarships this year, 2023-24, to three deserving girls from our area school districts – Alief ISD, Spring Branch ISD and Houston ISD. Thank you again for your support and generosity to the Thomsen-Baker-Telfer Scholarship. Please remember we will continue accepting donations to the scholarship fund.

At the October 9, West Harris County Board meeting, a motion passed to raise the scholarship to $3,500 per student. That is a total of $10,500 to be awarded in the spring of 2024. Each year since the start of the scholarship the WHC board has decided the value of the scholarship.

In January, there will be several ways you can become involved with the scholarship fund. Volunteer to: 1. be on the financial committee to guide the investment of the fund; 2. rewrite the scholarship by-laws; 3. be on the board of directors; 4. be on the scholarship selection committee. Rewriting the by-laws and the scholarship selection committee are bite size commitments. The financial committee and board of director commitments will last throughout the year.

Financial Information

The Matching Grant started at the beginning of the fiscal year, July 1, 2023, and was achieved by the first week of October with donations of $10,395.

Brenda Moss
The Thomsen-Baker-Telfer Scholarship Board

The Thomsen-Baker-Telfer Scholarship Fund is a 501(c)(3) deductible organization funded through contributions from all our generous members.

This webpage was last modified: February 28, 2024