The Pasco-Hernando State College Foundation recently received a $40,000 grant from the Edward K. Roberts Community College Fund of the Community Foundation of Sarasota County. Beginning over the summer term and continuing throughout the upcoming academic year, the Edward K. Roberts Community College Fund will provide over 50 scholarships with preference given to students who are parents and may not qualify for other financial aid.

Raised by a single mother, Roberts experienced firsthand the effort and perseverance needed in order to achieve his goals despite barriers he faced. His success afforded him the ability to become a generous lifelong donor to PHSC. He relocated to Sarasota and upon his death in 2009, the Edward K. Roberts Community College Fund at the Community Foundation was established. Since 2011, the fund has provided $630,000 to assist PHSC students through scholarships.

Pasco-Hernando State College, a comprehensive, learning-centered institution, serves its community by providing affordable, accessible, and diverse educational experiences that empower students to achieve academic success, personal enrichment, and socio-economic advancement.

About the Community Foundation of Sarasota County: The Community Foundation of Sarasota County is a public charity founded in 1979 by the Southwest Florida Estate Planning Council as a resource for caring individuals and the causes they support, enabling them to make a charitable impact on the community. With assets of $488 million in more than 1,580 charitable funds, the Community Foundation awarded grants and scholarships totaling $40 million dollars last year in the areas of education, the arts, health and human services, civic engagement, animal welfare and the environment. Since its founding, the Community Foundation has been able to grant more than $435.8 million to area nonprofit organizations in our community thanks to the generosity of charitable individuals, families, and businesses. For more information, visit CFSarasota.org or call 941-955-3000.