KDL Community Impact Scholarship 2025-2026

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Are you a high-school senior, a college student, or an adult returning to school or entering the trade professions?

Do you believe in the power of service, collaboration, and innovation to make your community stronger?

At Kent District Library, we’re proud to have been honored with the 2023 Jerry Kline Community Impact Prize for our commitment to deep civic engagement and transformational library service. Now, we are reinvesting in our community with the KDL Community Impact Scholarship.

We’re seeking candidates who demonstrate these qualities inspired by the Jerry Kline award:

Engagement with others and partnership in service
Inclusive mindset and a commitment to broad community interests
Innovation: original thinking and creative approaches to challenges
Leadership rooted in empathy, resilience, and lifelong learning
A meaningful relationship with their library and its mission

Up to three scholarships of $5,000 each will be awarded to community-minded learners who share our vision for building a stronger, more connected Kent County.

Application Requirements:

Completed Scholarship Application Form, highlighting demonstrated experiences addressing community involvement, inclusivity, innovation, leadership and a relationship with the local library.
Two letters of recommendation: Letters should be from a teacher, mentor, or community leader. Extra consideration will be given to those with a letter from a local librarian. Letters of recommendation should be requested and submitted via the built-in feature in Submittable (see the application form) or as PDF attachments at the bottom of the application form.
Accepted enrollment letter from college or trade school (if and when scholarship is awarded).
KDL Library card number to show resident eligibility.
Optional: Additional supporting materials such as articles highlighting the applicant's community engagement and library involvement. These materials are NOT REQUIRED and may or may not be reviewed in the evaluation process.

Selection Process:

The scholarship recipient(s) will be chosen by the KDL Board of Trustees based on their overall impact on the community and alignment with the scholarship criteria as displayed in their responses.

Scholarship Award:

The scholarship award in the amount of $5,000 will be disbursed directly to the recipient's chosen college, university, or trade school to be used for tuition, fees, books, or other educational expenses.

Application Deadline:

The application will open December 1, 2025, with a deadline for submitting scholarship applications on March 1, 2026. All applications must be submitted via this online form on Submittable.

Winner(s) will be announced in June 2026.

Questions:

We use Submittable to accept and review our submissions.

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