PRESS RELEASE
Contact:
Jessica S. Riddlesperger, CMP
Assistant Executive Director
(512) 334-5504 [email protected]
For Immediate Release
OGR FOUNDATION ANNOUNCES SCHOLARSHIP WINNERS
INDIANAPOLIS, IN, MARCH 27, 2020 – The Order of the Golden Rule (OGR) Foundation is proud to announce the recipients of the 2020 Awards of Excellence Scholarships. The scholarships help students who are about to graduate from mortuary school and enter the funeral profession. The OGR Foundation will award two scholarships this year to mortuary students based on strong academic performance, community involvement, and the strength of their essays which exemplify a commitment to serving grieving families with compassion, fairness, and dignity.
The 2020 Gold Award of Excellence recipient is Bridgett Madden of Worsham College of Mortuary Science in Wheeling, IL. Bridgett shares, “My ultimate goal is to buy the family owned funeral homes back in my hometown and to provide the best services I can to the community that has supported me. I truly want to spread the aesthetic that funeral directors are people who care about the well-being of their clients and that we, as funeral directors, will everything we can to ensure that the worst day of their lives is a true memorial for their loved one. I wish to also educate and mentor anyone who is wanting to learn or learning about the industry because it is an industry based upon learning, compassion, understanding, and expansion." Ms. Madden will receive $3,500 to complete her studies.
The recipient of the 2020 Silver Award of Excellence is Natalie Brahm of Milwaukee Area Technical College in West Allis, WI. She too hopes to care for families in her community throughout her entire career. She says, “I aspire to own and operate my own funeral home and aim to do so within the first 10 years of being a licensed director. Yet most importantly, through my career, I aspire to be able to look back and feel the difference that I made with families during their time of need. I want to be able to say that I made personal sacrifices to be able to provide a family with their last goodbye. I want to pour myself wholeheartedly to the funeral profession, and the families that I will serve. I want to make a difference in my community and make the world a bit better just from being in it. I will desperately seek to provide each family I serve with the opportunity to feel supported, understood and able to give their loved one the service they desire." Ms. Brahm will receive $2,000 to complete her studies.
“These students embody values and principles on which OGR is based. We are happy to help mortuary students realize their goals, and I am sure they will make a wonderful addition to the field of funeral service,” said Paul Hummel, OGR Foundation Chair.
The mission of OGR’s charitable foundation is to fund, perform and/or support activities on behalf of the International Order of the Golden Rule (OGR). Its eleven-member Board of Directors is responsible for identifying projects that advance the standards of funeral service or contribute to the compassionate care of individuals in need. Learn more at www.ogr.org/charitable-foundation.
About OGR
Founded in 1928, OGR is affiliated with independent funeral homes throughout North America and overseas that share common goals of exemplary service, uncompromising care and compassion to families in their time of need. For more information, visit www.ogr.org.