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About Us
We are proof that the collective support of a community has enormous power to help its young people achieve their potential and affect change in their world.
About Us
We are proof that the collective support of a community has enormous power to help its young people achieve their potential and affect change in their world.
We are proof that the collective support of a community has enormous power to help its young people achieve their potential and affect change in their world.
The Foundation
The Winchester Scholarship Foundation is a voluntary non-profit organization dedicated to providing need-based financial aid to students who have graduated from Winchester High School. The Scholarship Committee composed of five Winchester residents, awards scholarships based upon unmet family financial need. Since its establishment in 1945, the WSF has been supporting students during their four college years as well as students pursuing graduate degrees. Income from endowed gifts from organizations and individuals as well as annual contributions are the principal source of funding.
Holding the check are (l-r) Coley Carden, Bank Vice President, Ted Lamson, Winchester Scholarship Foundation, Treasurer, and Laurie Leahy, Bank Vice President.
December, 2021
By Edward Lamson
A scholarship fund created by John Sullivan’s Family and the Winchester Scholarship Foundation has received an extraordinary community response. The campaign was begun in November to honor John Sullivan’s life of service to Winchester. Significant contributions by two lead investors, the John and Mary Murphy Educational Foundation and the Winchester Co-operative Bank, combined with many additional community contributions, have allowed the John Sullivan Scholarship Fund to reach a value of $70,690 to date.
John served as an estate lawyer with his partner, Pat Hall, at Hall and Sullivan. John and Pat were trustees of the John and Mary Murphy Educational Foundation. John was very proud of the Murphy Educational Foundation’s twenty years of scholarships and educational grants to Winchester residents. The Murphy Fund has annually supported the Winchester Scholarship Foundation and many other Winchester organizations since its inception.
The second lead investor is the Winchester Co-operative Bank where John served on the Bank’s Board for over thirty-seven years. Serving as Chairman from 1986 to 2017, John fostered a commitment to service and community banking that helped the Bank grow total assets from $60 million to over $626 at the time of his retirement in 2017.
The majority of the many scholarship donations recognized John’s service to Winchester. He served 37 years as Winchester’s Town Moderator. During this period many overrides were skillfully orchestrated. Also, the expansions of four schools, Ambrose, Lynch, McCall and Winchester High School, were debated and eventually renovated to support Winchester’s quality education. Town Meeting debated and approved the Flood Mitigation Plan after two significant floods damaged many businesses, residences, and the Winchester High School. These projects required exceptional negotiating skills as each issue was controversial at that time.
The John Sullivan Scholarship Fund is the WSF’s 51st endowed scholarship fund. Endowed funds are a critical component of the WSF’s efforts to support WHS graduates’ families. During the current year 146 WHS graduates are receiving $ 558,682 toward their undergraduate and graduate studies. The John Sullivan Fund will support a minimum of one scholarship in perpetuity. Additional donations, which can be mailed to WSF, Post Office Box 174, Winchester, MA 01890, may allow the Sullivan Fund to award two or three scholarships annually in the future. Sullivan Fund progress can be tracked on the WSF website at winchestersf.org.