St. George's Episcopal Church Women seek scholarship fund donations

The Episcopal Church Women of St. George’s Chapel in Harbeson are working hard to raise funds to send young, local female students now in high school to college. “And we need the participation of the community to help us continue what we have started,” said Dr. Joyanne Murphy, chairperson of this effort and ECW member.

ECW scholarships went to two young female students in 2014 to start the program Then, this year, five students were chosen to each get $1,000. “With the high cost of college education, we saw the need and the opportunity to increase our outreach,” said Murphy.

“We were able to expand our St. George’s outreach because of successful activities such as the annual Christmas Fair, our spaghetti supper and other outreach events,” she said. In addition to helping the chapel meet its needs, individual members of St. George’s Chapel are also giving support to the scholarship drive. All are dedicated to this work.

“We are a small, 100-member church and we are hoping and praying to be able to do this on a yearly basis," said Murphy. ‘That’s why we need the help and support of the community. We hope that people will put us on their giving list.”

Murphy was born in Barbados and she is an experienced educator, nutritionist, and a retired U.S. Public Health Service Officer, as well as a former professional member of research organizations such as NIH. She and her husband Jack came to the Delaware beach area after she had taught at Howard University in Washington, D.C.

“We came here because we recognized that here was a place where churches such as St. George’s Chapel were active and well,” she said. Though partially retired, she now teaches research practices at Delaware State University. She has experience in granting scholarships.

To contribute to this ECW project, send a check made out to “St. George’s Chapel Scholarship Fund” to the All Saints’ Parish office, 18 Olive Ave., Rehoboth Beach, DE 19971. (All Saints’ Church and St. George’s Chapel share services and both work out of the All Saints’ offices.)

For more information, call St. George’s Chapel ECW Treasurer Cathy Graden at 302-227-9153 or to reach Murphy, leave a message at the parish office at 302-227-7202 and she will return the call.