The Toby Gamble and Janet Helen Tolan Gamble Educational Scholarship was established at The Alaska Community Foundation in 2015, with the inaugural scholarship cycle beginning in the spring of 2018. The Gambles wanted to support the post-secondary goals of students in Anchorage, a place they made their home for nearly sixty years.
Toby and Helen Gamble were active members of the Anchorage community for over fifty years. Together they joined Shiloh Missionary Baptist Church and were faithful members where Helen was a Sunday school teacher and both served on various committees and church boards. Toby was an early member of the Laborers union and in later years taught classes helping many young trainees become apprentices in the trades. Helen was a nurse working in the office of Dr. Milo Fritz before starting employment with the State of Alaska Job Service as an employment counselor where she developed a minority outreach program that helped bring talented underrepresented youth and adults into the workforce. Upon Helen’s death, the Toby and Janet Helen Tolan Gamble Educational Scholarship was created to financially assist talented high school graduates with the cost of higher education.
The Toby Gamble and Janet Helen Tolan Gamble Educational Scholarship supports high school students in Southcentral Alaska with a 3.0 GPA or higher, accepted into post-secondary schooling. Preference will be given to applicants that intend to study vocational technology, education, pre-med, law, business management or theology, who are active members of a local church in their area for three years prior to submitting an application, and applicants with demonstrated community involvement and extracurricular activities.
There will be three to five awards made of up to $5,000 each.
Eligibility Criteria:
- High school senior graduating from a high school in the Mat-Su Valley or Municipality of Anchorage
- Students with cumulative GPAs of 3.0 or higher
- Accepted to a college, university, or vocational school
Preference is given to the following applicants:
- Students who intend to study Vocational Technology, Education, Pre-Med, Law, Business Management or Theology.
- Students who have been active in a local church for three years prior to applying
- Students with a demonstrated history of community involvement and extracurricular activities
Applicants will be asked to provide:
- Personal Essay
- Resume and/or summary of work experience, activities, personal interests, honors/awards, and volunteer service
- Verification of Acceptance in a college, university, or vocational school
- Transcripts: most recent high school
- Statement of Financial need
IMPORTANT: Scholarship recipients must submit their student ID number and program information to ACF through the online system before their award can be disbursed. If we do not receive the above information by June 30, 2024, the scholarship may not be awarded. Please contact ACF if you cannot send in the information by this date.
Contact The Alaska Community Foundation with questions: scholarships@alaskacf.org or 907-334-6700