Applications are now available for Women’s Fund El Dorado’s (WFED) Wickline Scholarship, established to assist women living on the western slope of El Dorado County overcoming personal hardships by pursuing an undergraduate or vocational degree. 

The award of $2,300 is distributed each year to one or more recipients. Due to a one-time gift, an additional $4,000 will be donated in 2015 for a total of $6,300.

Applications are due by March 15, 2015, and recipients will be notified on May 15. The form is available online at womensfundeldorado.org/individual-scholarships-grants/, or may be picked up at the El Dorado Community Foundation, the Career & Transfer Services Office at the Folsom Lake College Placerville Campus or the Placerville Head Start Office.

The scholarship was established in 2009 from a legacy gift of the late Marian Wickline, who moved from the Bay Area to Placerville in 1988 and became involved in local affairs, active in numerous organizations and a member of several county commissions.

 A 1934 graduate of Mills College, Wickline was one of very few women at the time to earn a degree in chemistry and went on to enjoy a successful career as a chemist at Dow Chemical. “She left her legacy gift to the El Dorado Community Foundation, which decided a perfect way to honor it would be through the Women’s Fund and a scholarship to deserving women,” explained Cathy Bean, WFED chair. A challenge grant and additional funding from the Community Foundation resulted in a combined $50,000, enabling WFED to offer the scholarship on an annual basis for generations to come.

The funding of each year’s scholarship comes from proceeds earned by the Wickline Scholar Fund Endowment’s Fund the prior year. No WFED membership dues go toward the funding of the Wickline Scholarship.

To be eligible, students must meet all of the following criteria: reside on the western slope of El Dorado County; be a female over the age of 25; be accepted by and plan to attend an accredited educational or vocational institution; demonstrate financial need; and be available for a possible interview by the Wickline Scholar committee. Applications are scored on the basis of financial need and personal history. Applicants may apply multiple times. An individual can receive the scholarship twice but must reapply for consideration.

For more information, visit womensfundeldorado.org/individual-scholarships-grants/ or call (530) 622-5621.

Post information courtesy of Women's Fund El Dorado.