Local pharmacy offering scholarships to high school grads
By Dale Woodard on April 30, 2021.
A local pharmacy is aiming to give Grade 12 students from lower income families a financial shot in the arm.The Medicine Shoppe Pharmacy is offering a scholarship program for students in the four Grade 12 high schools in Lethbridge School District 51, Chinook High School, LCI, Winston Churchill High School and Victoria Park High School.
The $5,000 scholarship program will consist of two scholarships per school for a value of $625 each and will go towards graduating students who will be going to college or university in the fall.
Students with a family income of up to $80,000 will be eligible to receive the scholarships with the help of all four schools.
“We’ve been thinking about it for the last few months. Initially we were thinking about doing it on our own as Medicine Shoppe scholarship program through our website,” said Vishal Sukhadiya, prescribing pharmacist/owner of the Medicine Shoppe. “But then we discussed it with the schools. We wanted to give the scholarships to Grade 12 students.”
The two scholarships for each of the four schools will be awarded for Top Grade and Best Leadership Skills.
As the COVID-19 pandemic continues to drag on, Sukhadiya said his small businees wanted to give education a boost.
“During the pandemic some businesses are thriving and some businesses are struggling,” said Sukhadiya. “Right now we’re so focused on health and safety, but we wanted to increase those students who are coming from those middle income families or low income families. Six-hundred-twenty-five dollars is not big money. But it gives them incentives to perform better in school.”
Sukhadiya said the scholarship program comes from a personal experience stemming from his time in school.
“I was in school and university and I got scholarships, too, and when I got a scholarship it was an amazing experience. You feel like you’ve achieved big things.”
The scholarship program opens Monday.
“The schools will be conducting the scholarship program and we are the ones who set the criteria,” said Sukhadiya, noting the importance of getting the word to families of the students who qualify for the scholarships as well as reaching out to the business community.
“It’s just to make the parents aware as well as encourage more businesses to come together, especially tiny businesses like us.”
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