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TAMPA, Fla. — Tampa Pride Foundation is announcing winners of its annual scholarships.
The scholarships are worth $1,500 for any LGBTQ+ students pursing college or trade school that have a GED or high school diploma.
Eric Bergen is 26 years old, and is going into his third year at Stetson Law School.
As one of ten scholarship winners this year, he says the money will help him pay for housing and food while he finishes his law degree.
“There’s so many people that come from different backgrounds that do have such high needs, myself included, and it helps specifically with food and housing assistance,” said Bergen.
In recent years, LGBTQ organizations have suffered losses in fundraising and donors thanks to push back from the state and federal government.
Tampa Pride Foundation Advisory President Carrie West said the shortfalls have impacted operations, but thankfully haven’t forced any program changes.
West says now isn’t the time to give up, rather the time to get even more involved in community events and work with new partners.
“We are doing the best we can," West said. "And the community is putting together, the government is putting together, corporations are coming together, those that are breaking away now are seeing it,
"That they are seeing it’s just not a benefit to them, they are finding it detrimental to the corporations and companies, just work with the people and they will start coming around.”
Bergen says in the future he hopes to work with the Tampa Pride Foundation to assist in fundraising an advocacy for its scholarship program.
For more information on the Tampa Pride Foundations annual scholarship program, visit here.
