South Boston Sports Hall of Fame Scholarship – Apply today!

Each year, as college tuition continues to rise, the South Boston Sports Hall of Fame Trust Fund continues its important effort of funding promising Southie kids in their college journeys. The program, founded in 1995, started off with just a single scholarship and has since grown to give over $411,000 total to Southie youth. This year, the organization will award at least nine $2,500 scholarships and one $5,000 scholarship—and there’s still time to apply, with applications closing June 30th.

Despite its name, the Southie Sports Hall of Fame is looking for high-achieving kids of all stripes. According to Moss Lynch, Vice-Chair of the Trust Fund, “Originally, the Sports Hall of Fame was to highlight athletes across South Boston. What we’ve done is created a trust fund to give money to all students who are going to college.” The organization offers special scholarships for a variety of ages and paths beyond just college—one for trade school, one named after late founder Ed Buccigross, for a student-athlete, and another for a promising eighth grader.

The Southie Sports Hall of Fame Trust Fund is funded by a variety of sponsors across the Boston area and beyond, including Amazon, Massport, and the Youth Hockey Association. To give back to its sponsors, the organization names scholarships after them. “Every scholarship we give is a direct representation of and is named after one of our sponsors. We’re 100% sponsor-funded, so that’s our way of giving back,” Lynch says. At the scholarship award ceremony—hosted on the Friday after Thanksgiving each year—a representative from each sponsor organization attends to award their specific scholarship. For additional funding, the Hall of Fame also holds an annual golf tournament, where past winners often attend. “We try to bring a few students to come and give presentations as well and talk about the impact it’s had on them,” Lynch says.

As the organization continues to grow, one of its most important goals is raising awareness to eventually expand further. Each year, when the application process starts in April, representatives visit community centers and schools—but social media, in particular, has helped spread the word. “What we’ve seen since we’ve created our social media accounts is that we’ve had record-breaking numbers of applicants in the past few years,” Lynch says. All of this promotion is in the service of eventually increasing the trust fund’s efforts. “We’ve been continuing to grow our media presence to bring in scholarships for our students,” he continues. As for the application process itself, Lynch says that community engagement—with unpaid volunteer work—and strong academics are among the most important factors in choosing winners, along with family need.

To apply, students can visit the organization’s Facebook page until June 30th to download, complete, and email an electronic application. You can also download the application here!