Locally Branded Podcast
We highlight local community members and local legends. Talk about the wins, losses and the journey that has become their life story.
Locally Branded Podcast
Faith Based Education
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In this episode we talk with two amazing local individuals that have taken it upon themselves to help others with scholarship opportunities for faith based educational programs.
Hey, this is Jordan Allen, London, Kentucky Native and Singer Song. And you're listening to the locally branded podcast sponsored by Camper Home Furnishes, where we explore the wins, losses, and everything in between of local people just like you.
SPEAKER_04We've got a couple of people here with us today that are super to me, I think they're super special people. Um just now actually getting the opportunity to meet them and uh to get a chance to sit down with both of them and talk about some things that they're doing that's really big on the educational side of things. Um I'm a huge advocate for education. I'm a huge advocate for higher learning, for for more learning. Um here I am 41 and I still feel like you can never quit learning. Uh so I won't again take the line from these two individuals, but uh, I'll let them introduce themselves. Go ahead.
SPEAKER_01All right, well I'm Christy A. Tianza. I'm a physician. Um I'm an internal medicine interactive specialist. I have my private practice in Corbin, Kentucky, going to uh 26 years of uh private practice now. Uh I have a daughter who's in uh incoming seventh grade and she's um uh going to Coruscant Christian School. Uh she's in been in there since uh second grade.
SPEAKER_00I'm Sarah Wolf. Uh I am born and raised from here in London. Um grew up my whole life here. This uh community holds a very special place. Um married to uh an amazing um local provider, uh Will Wolf, and uh our son is also at Cornerstone Christian School and going into seventh grade with his best friend.
SPEAKER_04I always like to be able to have a conversation sitting here with with individuals that's from here, that's from the area, it's from southeast Kentucky in general, you know. Um our very first podcast was with a photographer out of Corbyn, and the question kind of came up where are you sticking just to London and Laurel County? And I'm from Eastern Kentucky. Again, I grew up in Hazard and Perry County, so I wanted to be able to highlight the things that people are doing from eastern Kentucky. This is my home now. I got obviously London's the place I want to be at, or I wouldn't be here, but um let's talk a little bit about what about what you all are doing. I think it's absolutely hugely important. Um I'll let you guys introduce what it is you are doing, um, and kind of what was your thought process behind it? I don't want to give it away, like I don't want to say, hey, this is what you're doing, and then have you talk about it, but I I'd like for you to how did this all come about and what is it that you're doing?
SPEAKER_01Well, our um project is actually inspired by um the H the Kentucky HB1 that was just recently passed. Um this um law will give uh students um a choice, a school choice where they want to go. Um so to be able to do that, people should um again donate or allocate their federal income tax to an SGO, which is a scholarship giving organization, and in turn would um interview or get applicants for students who want to have uh another choice of school uh through scholarships. So your donations uh coming 2027 will be a dollars to dollar. You know, you're allocating instead of giving everything to to Uncle Sam, you know, you get give a portion to the SGOs who in turn will give scholarships to the serving students, and uh we have a website that is alright already, uh getting pledges and you know ready for applications as well. So when that came about, um me and Sarah, since we both go to Cornerstone Christian School, and we know the struggle of uh private uh school, private school. Uh it's we we we raised fundraisers uh together. We you know, we came up to have a great banquet fundraiser, and Sarah is very good in doing that. So we we we we research and there are only three SGOs in the state of Kentucky. So you think if the HB1 will start in 2020, it will be overwhelmed with all the private Christian schools that wanted to partner with them. So I told Sarah, I was like, oh, you know, Sarah, probably because those three will get overwhelmed, you know, why don't we form our own SGOs so we can benefit our area? Because these SGOs are up, they're in you know, Louisville, you know, in north uh west Kentucky. So there was just a light bulb, and so Sara worked on it mostly on her own paperwork. She has PhD on writing grants and etc. So within a week's time we had our website up and about.
SPEAKER_02Yeah.
SPEAKER_00So for me, um I grew up uh very poor in this community, um, similar to a lot of families here, first generation college student, and I never knew that there were these opportunities out there, and that life could be so much different than what I experienced growing up, and to be able to give that opportunity to my son has just been a blessing from God more than more than I could have ever asked for. And after the tornado and when we lost my mother-in-law, and I realized how short life was. I knew I had to do something more than what I was doing now. Um, so when the conversation came up, I didn't even hesitate to say let's let's do it.
SPEAKER_04You know, there's there's a lot of things that we talk about on the podcast. A lot of it is like is leadership based, right? Those that take the extra step when they don't have to. And they do it because it's the right thing to do. You know, it feels like it's the right thing to do, it it is the right thing to do, and you set an example for others. That's everything that we highlight within this podcast. It's one of my favorite things of of doing this and putting this together, and that's a perfect example of it. So, especially through adversity, through a lot of things that you have lost, and sorry to hear about the loss that you said was your mother-in-law. Yeah, it's um it's a rough time for a lot of people a year ago. You know, it still is. Um still is very much so relevant in in the minds of all of us, for sure. So um kudos. I guess you could say like it's that's that's you know, and the thing is is you do it, correct me if I'm wrong, I'm just assuming here, but you do it without wanting recognition. You do it because it's something that's needed, you do it because it's something that will benefit others.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, Christy said I had to talk.
SPEAKER_04So she forced you, okay. That's a little bit different. So no, I'm just kidding.
SPEAKER_01But uh Yeah, it's uh because we feel the need, you know, being um I I'm a board member in Corders Concrete School, and uh because we're a small school, we we thrive or the f the fun we we need fundraising to keep uh the operations in the school going. Uh because enrollment is, you know, with uh difficulty in life nowadays, you know, we don't get a lot of enrollees, but there are still a lot of families who want to enroll their kids. They're asking for scholarship. If we do have, we have scholarships, but it's not a lot, you know, and the maximum we can give is uh around 500. And sometimes if there's multiple families that are enrolling, we we cannot give uh everybody five hundred dollars to you know to help with their tuitions. Sorry. So so the since the the when the HB1 was um you know created and passed, you know, we thought about oh my god, this is the answer to our problem. And if our little school has that same problem, that problem, we were thinking that the other rural Christian-based um private schools sh will have the same problem as well, you know. So that's why we thought about, yeah, you know, we're not only going to help our school, but also the other schools in southeastern Kentucky.
SPEAKER_00Yeah. Because it's our home, and my husband works in um Clay County and uh absolutely loves it, and all his, you know, his family there. He's got patients that see him on a regular basis and he's gotten to know him and he loves the kids, and um we just wanted to to make a difference to be able to help more. So um we are planning, you know, to um invite all the um faith-based schools in eastern Kentucky to partner with us. Um, and we hope they'll send um potential students, you know, to apply with us that that they know would like to attend. Um we just I know this year we're just operating as a regular nonprofit, but if we do get approved for the HB1, I really think we'll have a lot of potential, a lot of students and families that we can make a difference with.
SPEAKER_04And there there may be a way that we can also help out a little bit, a little bit more than just this, as well as on our website. I I've been toying with the idea of putting out their local scholarships, like doing a local scholarship section section on our website. And if that's the case and I'm gonna get things finished up, let's make sure your all's is on there. Let's make sure that it's that it's there that your organization is so that they can remotely just click on it and it would take them to donate to exactly to try to help. So um that's in the works for June and July, like to go do that. So it's I like to do it and take my time doing it so it's done right instead of rushing into it. So, but that is one of the plans and one of the goals that we were what we were wanting to do um because of the scholarship opportunities that's there. The funding for a lot of especially you know the the faith-based organizations or or the schools, the funding isn't as much as what you would get elsewhere. So thank goodness for HB1, right? Make sure that that opened up so much doors and opportunities for you know for this to happen. So um tell us again, and uh, you may have already said this, and I just haven't what's the name of the organization?
SPEAKER_00Um Southeastern Kentucky Faith-Based Scholarship Fund.
SPEAKER_04Yeah, perfect, right? Right on the nose. It's like you you can't you can't you can't miss it. So um the way that people can donate. Let's talk about it. What's what's the ways that they can actually reach out to you all or to or to be able to make a donation?
SPEAKER_00Um, we have a website set up. Uh we are also uh set up on PayPal. There's links on the website to donate through PayPal. Um, I've also got links to the email. If people want to reach out personally, so I would be happy to drive and pick up donations. Um, I can provide a mailing address. Um we're pretty flexible, whatever we need to do to get that that help going.
SPEAKER_04What's the name of the website?
SPEAKER_00Just uh uh seky scholarship.org.
SPEAKER_04Okay. Make sure that people know it. I want to make sure people are able to access, get to it, and and and do it. So that's that's the name of the website. I'll also run that at the bottom here. Uh just uh just as an extra extra little plug to kind of help out with things. Tell us more about it. Like I'm I want to know, and you can I could talk to you all day. Like I can sit and talk to you all day about this because I find it very interesting. The drive that you all had wasn't so much of again how to get exposure for yourself, but how can you help others, right? And I think this is a big part of it. So um what's some highlights of what you all are doing that you would really like for the for the the viewers to know?
SPEAKER_00Well, our website is set up. Um, the application is ready for students to apply. There's also um a page where schools can apply to be partner schools with us. Um for the schools to partner, you just have to agree to let us know that confirm the students accepted. Uh, we would pay the schools directly on behalf of the family, and uh throughout the year, once or twice you would verify enrollment. Uh for the students, we have a scholarship committee separate from our board that is going to use a non-discriminatory process that is income-based to determine who would receive the scholarships. Um, so it um really excited. You don't have to be of any particular faith or beliefs or any certain demographics to apply, just depends on what applicants we get. It is uh primarily income and need based, so it would just depend on how many other people applied and what their circumstances were, but uh, as long as you're accepted into the school and that's what you feel is right for your your child or your family, this is open to you. Um grades K through twelve.
SPEAKER_01And and then you have to choose a school and should be accepted to the school. So we and then we because we give the payment directly to the school system.
SPEAKER_04Yeah, and that's that's super nice to have it set up that way. It's you know, scholarships are one thing, you know, it having the funds to do it or another, having the drive to do it is a whole another. It this is a whole it all has to come together the right way, right? And I feel like just from talking with Melanie that it this is perfect. Like it's thank you.
SPEAKER_01And also uh they can also uh help us by sharing our website too, because it's not just uh the state of Kentucky, since it's federal, so it's uh the whole United States can donate to our SGO and still get a credit on their uh federal income tax. So that's the beauty of it. And I'm glad they passed it because uh donors from you know, like from Kentucky if they want to donate, and we don't have it's not passing here, they can donate to Indiana or other uh states that have um been approved. So we're losing those donors to other states. So I'm glad that they pass it in in our state. So the the people here who are generous donors can give our SGOs and also can invite other uh donors from out of states.
SPEAKER_04Out of state donors, yeah. And that's use having the reach that's broader than just the area, and I've and I've found that out personally, is is it's it's one thing to be able to get donors and to get you know to get some I guess support from your local area is always key. It's always fantastic. But if you're able to reach outside of your area to help bring it bring in things and you do it the right way, you can move mountains. You really can. And I'll and I'll say this, and I've I've always said this, you gotta rely on God, you gotta have you gotta have that faith to to to know that it's in his hands.
SPEAKER_00So uh currently our donations are just are just tax deductible. So we would love to ask for prayers that when the HB1 guidelines and application comes out that we are approved, uh, and that we can start that part. But even if we're not approved for HB1, we are gonna be here, we're gonna be offering scholarships and operating as an SGO for our community regardless of of that.
SPEAKER_01We so yeah, because we we plan to start uh school year 26-27. We actually have um donations already uh as far as Philippines and Australia.
SPEAKER_04Really?
SPEAKER_01Yeah, who uh that's fantastic donated already.
SPEAKER_04So that's it.
SPEAKER_01That's amazing, yeah.
SPEAKER_04That's so awesome. Well listen, I appreciate you all. It's been fantastic meeting you. I'm sure this won't be our last encounter that we can, you know. What I'd like to do is I'd like to follow up with you. I'd like to follow up with you, do another episode of this, um, save for the next, you know, for next school year, and see how things are going, let's see how you know how things have progressed, and obviously if we can be any of help whatsoever here um here at the office or here, however you need us, we're here for you.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, probably a good timing when uh we start our H1 HB1, if we're approved probably around December, right? So we would should should surely have an idea at the time if we're you know going to operate in 2027.
SPEAKER_02Yep.
SPEAKER_01We're operating either way though. Yeah, yeah.
SPEAKER_04Either way you're here.
SPEAKER_01HB11.
SPEAKER_04Either way you're here. So before we close out, one more time, the website. Give us the website.
SPEAKER_00W.seky scholarship.org. And uh just one request. Um, would love to have local churches, families pray for us, share our message, and if uh if any churches reach out and would love it, would like us to visit to bring flowers. We'd love to uh come out and share what we're doing um you know across the the communities that we serve.
SPEAKER_04Let's reach out and see if we can get some, let's see if we can get some contact made. Let's get whatever help that we can help with. I'm here for for sure. And I I do want to say real quick, because if I don't give her a little bit of little bit of recognition here, she's not gonna mind, but I'm still gonna do it anyway. But um, Miss Callahan. It's obviously Melanie is Miss Callahan to me. She helped teach my you know, she taught my daughter as well, and she thinks the world over. Um, this is how we met. This is how we connected was through Miss Callahan. You know, a lot of you remember, you know, Blakely was on the on the podcast prior, and Melanie sat there on the couch, is where Melanie was at, and then she reached back out to me and said, Hey, I've I've I've got something I want to share with you. And it was uh just like you said, it was no questions asked, let's do it. You know, so being able to connect people, being able to network together with with lock bonds is is is become fantastic. So uh special thank you to her as well. Thank you, Melanie. I appreciate each each of you and uh look forward to seeing where this goes.
SPEAKER_01Um excited to thank you for the exposure and the opportunity, John.
SPEAKER_04Absolutely. Anytime. Thank you so much.