The Branch County Community Foundation is proud to announce scholarships to summer music camps are available again this year through Irma L. English (ILE) Music Scholarship Fund, a charitable endowment fund administered by the Community Foundation. Students of music in Branch County will find applications for the scholarship on the Foundation’s website at www.BRCOFoundation.org or by calling 517.278.4517. Applications are due by February 15, 2012.

Upon her death, the ILE Music Scholarship Fund was created by her children to honor Irma Louise English, a lifelong Branch County resident. Besides showing their love and respect for their mother, her family wanted to offer a chance for the students to have a positive musical experience just like they did. One of Irma’s strongest passions was music, evidenced by the encouragement she gave to her children who participated in various musical activities. Because of that encouragement, some of Irma’s children were lucky enough to receive scholarships to Interlochen and Blue Lake Music Camp for two weeks during the summer break from high school.

The fund, established in the fall of 2008, has issued 13 scholarships to Branch area music students totaling $7,252.00. Former recipients have come back from camp with wonderful stories of their enhanced musical learning and their Instrumental Lifelong Experience. Volumes have been written showing the benefit of music to students. Cognitive thinking, teamwork, discipline, not to mention math, are just a few examples of ways that youth can benefit.

Donations to the fund are welcomed, and former Branch County residents from as far away as Alaska make annual donations in honor of Irma and the English family,

The Branch County Community Foundation is a non-profit organization and a nationally accredited and state-certified community grantmaking foundation that serves communities in Branch County and Colon, Michigan by supporting charitable giving, building permanent endowments, and connecting community resources. For more information about making a donation, please contact the Branch County Community Foundation by calling 517.278.4517 or visiting their website at www.BRCOFoundation.org.