Thomsen-Baker-Telfer STEM Scholarship News
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
April 2023
Scholarship Celebratory Luncheon
Friday February 24th, we had a celebratory luncheon for AAUW WHC members. The purpose of the event was to acknowledge and honor the persons who set up the Thomsen-Baker-Telfer Scholarship Fund (formerly Baker-Telfer Scholarship Fund): Arlene Baker, Carol Telfer (deceased), Marietta Hostak, Mary Dodson, Dana Cutts, Diana Guarniere, Patricia Dach, Gwen Robberson (deceased), Eric Anderson (deceased), Susan Thompson, and Pat and Leon Thomsen. We appreciate their dedication to the college education of young women from Houston ISD, Alief ISD, and Spring Branch ISD. This celebration was totally underwritten by: Friends of AAUW Funds and Friends of Thomsen-Baker-Telfer Scholarship Fund.
The luncheon took place at SBISD’s Altharetta Yeargin Art Museum, 901 Yorkchester Dr. There were 43 people present. Each table was elegantly set with china provided by each table host and the stemware used for drinks was donated by Susan Dutton. We had a wonderful fresh salad with grilled chicken and a delicious cookie prepared by Belong Kitchen who employs adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities. Their Grab and Go Kitchen is located at 9655 Katy Freeway, Village Towers Plaza, Suite 3105. If you find yourself in the area or tend to like buying prepared meals, you might want to support this business. They post the weekly menu online. (https://www.belongkitchenhtx.org)
 Mary Dodson, Dana Cutts, Diana Guarniere, Marietta Hostak, Pat Dach and Susan Thompson Arlene Baker was not able to attend. |
Carolyn Morris gave a thorough description of the history of the scholarship as well as a financial report and Sharon Jorgensen outlined the scholarship application and selection process and answered questions. Thanks to Dallas Morris and Gene Stoffel for providing parking attendant services. And a huge thank you to Carolyn Morris for planning and organizing the luncheon! After lunch we enjoyed looking through the various art exhibits.
AAUW members have been asking how to make a donation in honor or memory of a loved one. The generosity of our membership supports this scholarship. Donors will receive a letter that states that their donation is tax deductible. The person you are honoring (or the person handling the estate of your deceased honoree) will also receive notice of your gift. Checks should be made out to Thomsen-Baker-Telfer Scholarship Fund and given or mailed to Carolyn Morris, 11159 Riverview Way, Houston, TX 77042. We also accept electronic payments using Zelle. Zelle is available through most major bank apps under transfers and incurs no additional fees to the donor or the scholarship fund. To use Zelle, enter the following email address (using the exact spelling and spacing): thomsenbakertelferscholarship@gmail.com
You may enter Carolyn Morris as the name and there is an opportunity for you to type the name and reason for your donation.
April 14th is the deadline for our scholarship application. If you want to share the link with applicants, use: https://westharriscounty-tx.aauw.net/about/scholarships/
The Thomsen-Baker-Telfer Scholarship Board appreciates your support!
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: June 30, 2025