TREE HOUSE MEMORIAL SCHOLARSHIP

Announcing the 2023 Tree House Memorial Scholarship Recipient!

The Tree House Child and Family Center has announced Elkhorn Area High School student Kendle Lynn Smith as the inaugural recipient of the Tree House Memorial Scholarship. The scholarship was presented to Smith on April 21, 2023, as part of the Tree House’s annual Blue Ribbon Bingo Dinner at Hawk’s View Golf Club.

Initially announced in the fall of 2022 as a $2,000 scholarship opportunity, an anonymous gift made to the Tree House’s Giving Tuesday campaign in November increased the award amount to $3,000. The scholarship was open to any Walworth County student graduating from high school this year who has demonstrated a positive impact on the children of their community and who plans to continue serving children through their post-high school studies. Students could attend the college or technical school of their choice.

The Tree House received 23 applications, each of which was reviewed independently and anonymously by a panel of nine Tree House Board Members and community leaders. While GPA was considered, priority was given to candidates who were able to demonstrate already having made a difference in the lives of children. While each member of the panel wrote in their comments how impressed and inspired they were by all the applicants, it was Smith’s current impact, clarity of perspective, and future plans that exemplified why the Tree House decided to start the scholarship.

In her four years at EAHS, Smith has served in FFA (Future Farmers of America), DECA (an association of marketing students), and FCCLA (Family, Career, and Community Leaders of America). Because of her desire to help children, Smith took Child Development 1 and 2, where she studied the effects of trauma in child development, as well as different parenting styles. She received her certification in Shaken Baby Syndrome and CPR, she has volunteered for AgVentures, and she presently serves as a teachers assistant for the EAHS Special Education Department to better understand and support children of different learning styles and backgrounds. To experience children of different age groups, she has worked as a nanny and babysitter. Smith has been accepted into the National Honors Society, and she has been on the Honor Roll all four years at EAHS. Smith plans to attend Carthage College in the fall, where she will major in Social Work and minor in Psychology.

“It truly is an honor to be the first recipient of the Tree House scholarship,” Smith said as part of her acceptance remarks at the Blue Ribbon Bingo Dinner. “My end goal is to be a child and family social worker. I plan to use my personal experience to help children and families improve their future.”

For 2023, the scholarship honored the legacy of a longtime Tree House supporter and former Board President. “Not only does this scholarship give the Tree House a new opportunity to invest in the future of children from our community, but it also was awarded in memory of my mom, Margaret Downing,” said Tree House Executive Director Koko Cooper. “Her passion was always focused on making the world a better place for children, and I know without a doubt that she would be so proud and excited to have Kendle as this year’s recipient!”

Following Smith’s award presentation, Cooper shared with the Bingo Dinner event attendees that two donors from Brookfield, Wisc., Kathy and Stan Johnson, have made a generous gift to the Tree House to endow a $3,000 scholarship for 2024 and a $3,000 scholarship for 2025.

This fall, the Tree House will announce who the 2024 scholarship will be awarded in memory/honor of. Applications for the 2024 scholarship will open in late November.