Watertown Rotary Club raises $88,000 for Purple Heart scholarship program

The Watertown Rotary Club has raised $88,000 for the Rotary Purple Heart scholarship this year through ticket sales for its raffle, the most the club has raised in a single year.

"People have been really generous, and a lot of them don't even care about the raffle prizes when they hear we're raising money for this scholarship," said Terrence L. Roche, chairman of the Purple Heart scholarship committee.

As an added bonus this year, Douglas and Joanne Blake of Michigan, the parents of Pvt. Joseph R. Blake, a Fort Drum soldier killed in Afghanistan in 2006, matched the first $15,000 the Rotary Club raised.

The Rotary Club holds a raffle each year to raise money for the scholarships. Between the Rotary Club's fundraising efforts and additional donations, a total of $425,000 has been raised in the past four years, and 11 scholarships have been given away, Mr. Roche said. The Northern New York Community Foundation administers the scholarships.

Each of this year's three scholarship recipients will receive $2,500.

This year's recipients are:

■ Julie A. Gaylord. Mrs. Gaylord earned a Purple Heart as a sergeant with the 10th Mountain Division in Iraq. She is now a civilian and a student at Jefferson Community College. When her husband returns from Iraq, they plan to return to their home in Missouri.

■ Dana Gorman. Miss Gorman is a 2009 graduate of Sackets Harbor Central School and a student at the SUNY Brockport. Her father received a Purple Heart during the Vietnam War.

■ Kimberly Babcock. Miss Babcock is a 2009 graduate of Carthage High School and a student at the Rochester Institute of Technology. Her father received a Purple Heart during the Vietnam War.

"We do the scholarship because it's a way to show our appreciation for the armed services," Mr. Roche said.

To receive the scholarship, an applicant must have earned a Purple Heart or be the spouse or child of a Purple Heart recipient. The applicant must be a resident of Jefferson, Lewis or St. Lawrence counties, and the scholarship must be used for an educational pursuit such as college tuition or skill training.