Help us provide scholarships for dyslexic students.

The Reward Resilience Dyslexia Scholarship fund was started in February of 2021 by Peggy and Brian McFeeters, along with their daughter and her husband, Brent and Laurie Werries. The purpose of the Fund is to identify and support, with scholarship(s), the development of dyslexic students with outstanding future potential. An award is to be made annually from the fund, granting a scholarship to allow said student to attend a university, college, community college, vocational school, trade school, or technical training program. Said student must be either: (1) a graduating senior at Morton High School (MHS), Morton, IL, (2) a prior graduate from MHS, (3) a student who is a resident of Morton, Illinois at the time that such student is expected to graduate from high school or that such student is expected to receive his/her high school graduation equivalent (e.g. a Morton resident who is a graduating senior at Peoria Notre Dame, Peoria Christian or any other current or future local area high school or who is a home schooled high school senior) or (4) a student who was a resident of Morton, Illinois at the time that such student graduated from high school or that such student received his/her high school graduation equivalent (e.g. a student who was a Morton resident when he/she graduated from Peoria Notre Dame, Peoria Christian or any other current or future local area high school or who was a Morton resident when he/she graduated from high school as a home schooled student).

The story of how this scholarship came about is as follows (written by Peggy McFeeters):

The struggle is real! Dyslexia affects about 20 percent of the population. Yet many of those people are never diagnosed. Studies show about 9 out of 10 students in the school system fall through the cracks because although parents and teachers know there is something different about the student, the student does not qualify for special education. Dyslexics not only struggle with the academic system but with self esteem issues. Dyslexia impacts their entire life.

My grandchildren are the lucky ones. They were diagnosed with dyslexia at a young age by a trained specialist because of the awareness of their parents. Since Dyslexia is inherited, their parents knew there was a chance they carried that trait. Both children are thriving after extensive private tutoring, and they are gifted in ways often displayed by dyslexic children. They excel in dance, cooking, art, and big picture thinking. But we saw the hard work they have done, both spending excessive time in studying and tutoring. They are resilient and have bright futures.

Now we are hoping to reward other Morton students for their hard work, and we want to be a part of achieving their goals. Through this scholarship, a level of development beyond high school can be supported in whatever area fits the gifts of the dyslexic person. Maybe this will include cooking school, mechanical training, or college.

There are different requirements for applying for this scholarship to let the strengths of a dyslexic shine through, rather than focusing on written expression, GPA, or test scores.

Dyslexic students deserve bright futures and reward for their hard work as much, if not more, than other students. They can have a success story, and you can help us help them with your donation to this endowed scholarship fund.