Thursday, March 10, 2011

Capo's Scholars

The Capo's Scholars Award will be given to two students from an identified area for support of their pursuit of higher education. In keeping with our founding beliefs to support education (which you can read more about in a previous blog post) Capo's will award two $250 scholarships for two high school seniors who plan to pursue higher education at a college or university. To qualify you must be from one of the following localities: Grayson, Russell, Scott, Smyth, Washington or Wise Counties or the cities of Bristol, Virginia or Bristol, Tennessee. You have to be a currently enrolled high school senior and have a 2.0 minimum GPA or its equivalent. The student must also have plans of attending college which can include community college and four year institutions.
Applications are available through the schools in the identified areas or through the store. Deadline for applications is close of business on Friday, April 29, 2011.

Important hints and frequently asked questions:
1) Do I have to be a musician to apply? - No. You do not. There are three questions on the application and one asks what music means to you. You don't have to play an instrument to qualify.
2) Do I have to be born in these localities? No. You must be attending school in one of these localities, but you don't have to be born here.
3) Do I have to have financial need to qualify? No, preference is given to those with stated need and to first generation college students, but this is not a requirement. We do not ask for a copy of your FAFSA form. The scholarship also is paid directly to you and not to the school so that it doesn't interfere with your financial aid package.
4) Do I have to fill in everything? Yes. It is very important that you complete the entire applications. Partially completed applications will not be considered. If something doesn't apply simply put n/a. But fill in everything and follow the guidelines for the word maximum on the questions.

If you have any further questions about the Capo's Scholars Award, please contact the store.

Saturday, March 5, 2011

The foundation for our education programs at Capo's

For any reader out there who doesn't know about the Capo's Scholars program, this blog will explain what the Capo's Scholars Program is and how it works. But, first I want to give a little background. I (Amy) am a first generation college student. Neither of my parents finished high school and no one in my immediate family attended or completed a four year college. I knew I wanted to go to college since I was a very small child and my parents, especially my mother, instilled in me the importance of a higher education. After finishing undergrad and then grad school I worked in the private sector for a while but soon began working in the world of non-profits and the importance of education was reaffirmed to me every day. I was blessed to have the opportunity to be a program and grants manager with a grant known as GearUp for 6 years. The purpose of that program was to increase the number of students in a cohort attending a post-secondary institution. The program was successful and it changed my life in so many ways. I still cherish the students I worked with and though they are adults and in the workforce now, I always will think of them as "my kids". After GearUp I worked at a local private college as the director of campus service programs where I saw how one college can change lives and impact a community. I left Emory to start this business with Gill, my husband and Capo's co-owner. We had been planning Capo's for over three years, the entire time I was at Emory, but the timing didn't seem to fit. Through divine providence, we were shown that this was our time and we embarked on Capo's.

For Gill, without putting words in his mouth, I know education has been important in his life. His mother and sister were both elementary teachers and his mother became an elementary principal. His father worked in higher education. Gill attended Shenandoah Conservatory where he will tell you he uses the education he received every day in one form or another.

I tell you this to lay a backdrop for the Capo's Scholars Program. They say you can't know where you are going till you know where you have been. Because education is so important to me personally (and to Gill) it became on part of our founding principals. We set up the store to offer different education opportunities throughout the year. These include free and for fee programs.

Capo's Scholars Program is part of our education foundation. We seek to provide a little extra help to aspiring college students in the form of a $250 scholarship. Currently we give two per year. As we grow, we hope to give out many, many more.

There will be other posts about our education programs and Capo's scholars but now you know why this is so important to us here and why we seek to provide educational opportunities to all who come through our doors.