Dr. Clarence W. and Juanita Harris Jairrels Scholarship Fund

Tribute: The Dr. Clarence W. and Juanita Harris Jairrels Scholarship Fund is a gift to the graduating seniors of Seventeenth Street Missionary Baptist Church. In that Clarence and Juanita have been members of Seventeenth Street Missionary Baptist Church for more than fifty years, the fund has been created to foster educational opportunities for graduates of the church.
This scholarship endowment has been established as a component fund of the Community Foundation of Calhoun County.

Awards: The Dr. Clarence W. and Mrs. Juanita Harris Jairrels Fund is designated to high school graduates who are members of Seventeenth Street Missionary Baptist Church. The Foundation will use the Private Foundation's Guidelines to ensure that there is a meaningful pool of applicants each award cycle. If there is no eligible pool of applicants from Seventeenth Street Missionary Baptist Church, those applications will be added to applicants from Anniston High School. The pool may also include all active church members who are enrolled in a post-secondary institution when the award is available. The Fund is intended to provide full or supplemental funding for full-time enrolled students, over a period not to exceed four years, to an accredited college, university or technical institution within the United States. Furthermore, the Fund will take into consideration extenuating circumstances and all financial resources available to the student during his or her four-year matriculation from the institution. If the need is documented, and funding is available, the award may include room and board (institutional), books and fees.

The Community Foundation of Calhoun County will project and allocate the assets available for scholarship awards depending on the Fund's annual income. The Community Foundation's Scholarship Review Committee will further assess each applicant's background and financial need to recommend a final award amount.

Application: Guidelines and applications are available from the Seventeenth Street Missionary Baptist Church business office or the Community Foundation of Calhoun County. Seventeenth Street Missionary Baptist Church will publicize the Fund in a widely available bulletin or program to insure accessibility for all eligible students. The Community Foundation will maintain and revise as necessary the guidelines and application documents.

Essay: An essay is required with the application. The student is asked to describe his or her personal aspirations, educational, and career goals. This composition should be typed and be no longer than three double-spaced pages. The applicant should conclude the statement with the main reason why the Scholarship Advisory Committee should award him or her the scholarship.

Eligibility: Graduating seniors of Seventeenth Street Missionary Baptist Church or Anniston High School, or its successor institution, are eligible to apply for the scholarship without regard to race, religion, gender, national origin, or disability. Priority will be given to seniors with documented economic need, strong moral character, and promising academic ability.

Members of the Jairrels family and all relatives of donors who contribute more than two percent of the Fund's assets, are ineligible to receive a scholarship from the Fund. In addition, the Foundation's Board of Trustees, Staff and Scholarship Committee members, including their spouses, children, adopted children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren, are prohibited from applying or receiving any scholarship, grant or financial award from the Foundation. Based on IRS regulations, this disqualifying exclusion exists for five (5) years after concluding volunteer service or employment.


Review Committee: The Harris/Jairrels Scholarship Advisory Committee will be comprised of the following four persons: (i) Chairman of the Deacon Board of Seventeenth Street Missionary Baptist Church (ii) President of the Trustee Board of Seventeenth Street Missionary Baptist Church, (iii) President of the Missionary Society of Seventeenth Street Missionary Baptist Church Calhoun and (iv) Vice-President of the Missionary Society of Seventeenth Street Missionary Baptist Church.

Review Process: Students are required to submit the application packet to the Community Foundation by February 1; staff will review the application for clarity and completeness; copies of applications, follow-up reports, and funding parameters will be forwarded to the Scholarship Advisory Committee; committee members will have four weeks to review and score the applications and return them to the Community Foundation. The scores and recommendations will be complied by the Foundation's staff and submitted to the Foundation's Scholarship Review Committee for recommendations to the Foundation's Executive Committee for final approval in May.

Payment of Awards: Upon formal acceptance of the award, payment is made at the beginning of the academic term (quarter or semester), once the Foundation has received proof of registration as a full-time student and a class schedule. Distributions will not be made until the Foundation receives the (i) signed letter of acceptance provided by the Foundation, (ii) certified proof of enrollment from the institution and (iii) confirmation that the recipient is enrolled. Checks are made directly to the financial administration office at the college or institution. No distribution will be made to any individual for any reason.

It is the hope of the donor and the Community Foundation that recipients will continue to qualify for Dr. Clarence W. and Mrs. Juanita Harris Jairrels Scholarship. If the total available assets in any year is less than the full amount of scholarship awards approved for such year by the Foundation Staff, awards to renewal applicants will be fully funded prior to awarding new scholarships. Factors that are evaluated in renewing or terminating the award are as follows.

 Maintaining high personal standards and moral character.
 Meeting the minimum academic requirement of a 2.5 or "C" average on a 4.0 scale.
 Remaining enrolled as a full-time student.
 Progressively completing academic courses of substance aligned with a specific major or degree.
 Graduating within 4 years unless there are extenuating circumstances.
 Funding available to provide scholarships in any award cycle

Continuing scholarship payments are made based on regular annual reviews. Since this fund is renewable, it may not be awarded every year. Please check with the Foundation office regarding award status.


Students must notify the Community Foundation of any additional educational or financial aid grants or awards immediately. Also, the Community Foundation is to be notified if there is any change in the student's financial support.

In addition, the scholarship recipient must provide the Foundation with an official college or university transcript at the end of each academic year. Failure to maintain the above standards will result in the termination of The Dr. Clarence W. and Mrs. Juanita Harris Jairrels Scholarship.

Responsibility of Recipient: Each scholarship recipient is responsible for fulfilling requirements for admission to the educational institution of his or her choice. The scholarship recipient must enter a post-secondary institution no later than the fall term following the selection and award. No award shall be carried over beyond twelve months from the date of acceptance.

Recipients not completing the full academic year must request the school to reimburse the Community Foundation for any funds eligible for refund because of separation from the academic program.

Assumptions: The Dr. Clarence W. and Mrs. Juanita Harris Jairrels Scholarship Guidelines are not a contract. No obligation or liability of any kind will be imposed upon a scholarship recipient; nor will any obligation or liability be assumed by the Community Foundation of Calhoun County, except as expressly stated in this document.

These guidelines are subject to change; therefore, applicants should inquire if revised guidelines have been issued. This may include the due date of the application documents.

The Community Foundation will not (i) accept applications that are presented after the due date; (ii) contact students to locate missing documents such as letters of recommendation (iii) contact students to return the Letter of Acceptance form and (iv) contact students to provide proof of enrollment in order to receive payment.


Adopted June 2, 2005
Revised November 7, 2005
Revised February 3, 2006