Cypress Cove Awards Scholarships to Employees

Cypress Cove at HealthPark Florida recently awarded $24,000 in scholarship assistance to 12 of the South Fort Myers life plan community’s qualifying college student employees.

The awards are the first presented by Cypress Cove’s newly formed staff scholarship program. “Funding for the program,” explained Resident Services Director Mary Franklin, “is the result of generous donations received from many residents of the 48-acre HealthPark Florida community.”

A staff scholarship fund committee is responsible for selection of student award recipients. That committee is comprised of six Cypress Cove residents and three staff advisors.
Perry Ahrens, president of Cypress Cove’s Resident Council, is a member of the newly formed staff scholarship committee and he is thrilled with the opportunity to financially assist employees with their education. “As a resident, a donor and a member of the scholarship committee, it makes me very happy to see that we have awarded scholarships to 12 hardworking recipients.

“I’m especially pleased, for example,” Ahrens noted, “to see that our scholarship efforts support six staff LPNs given an opportunity to achieve their Registered Nurse licenses. Their educational advancements will no doubt help and strengthen our community.”

Of the inaugural Cypress Cove scholarship recipients, eight employees are currently pursuing degrees in the field of health care. Still other employee recipients are seeking degrees ranging from finance to civil engineering. Eleven of Cypress Cove’s scholarship recipients attend colleges or universities in Lee County.

Employee scholars were excited about their selection. “I cannot begin to thank you all for your kindness and compassion towards me and all of the other scholarship recipients here at Cypress Cove. You all inspire me each and every day,” she told resident committee members, “to push a little harder and be a little better.”