The Brookfield Chamber of Commerce raised its annual college scholarship to $5,000, up from $1,000. 

Students who receive the scholarship will get $1,250 each year for four years if they keep good grades and volunteer eight hours a year at a Brookfield business or the chamber of commerce.  

The initial amount of $1,250 will be directly awarded directly to the student and not to the school. 

Brian Sharenow, president of the chamber of commerce, said the reason for the increase was to get people more involved in the community instead of just awarding the money one time.

“One example could be volunteering at all of the farmers market every Saturday or working some of the chamber and or village sponsored events,” Sharenow said.

The chamber will provide the recipients with the list of the volunteering
opportunities.

The scholarship is funded through the events that the chamber of commerce holds, such as “Dancing With The Chamber,” “60 To Win Raffle” and others.

“We’re trying to increase their awareness and their ability to work within business separate from what they learn in college,” Sharenow said. “To get more hands-on experience, to get more practical experience and to be more involved with different business organizations all within the community that they grew up in.”

The scholarship is available for senior students at Lyons Township high school and Riverside Brookfield high school who reside in Brookfield and who will pursue a two-or four-year degree in business. 

Interested students will need to fill out an application, answer a question about why they want to pursue business, list extracurricular activities and jobs they worked during high school, and maintain a minimum GPA of 3.0, ACT score of 20 or greater or an SAT score of 1000 or greater.

The committee, which consists of members of the chamber of commerce, will determine the scholarship winners based on application information, recommendations and an interview of the final list from each school.

There will be one recipient from each school and the money can be used on any expenses associated with college.

The scholarship was established in 2016 and Sharenow said the number of applicants vary. Some years it was as little as five and some up to 50.

“There’s a lot of opportunity for anyone who’s interested in business or a business career to be able to expand on what their opportunities are right here, where they grew up, either before they get to college or even after they’ve been in college,” Sharenow said.

The scholarship deadline is March 1 and winners will be announced by May 1. 

Interested students can apply through their college/career center on campus. The scholarship applies to the 2024-2025 school year.