RSVP for Milton McPike Memorial Scholarship Fund Kick-off Brunch

ISTHMUS PICK

×

Expand

Brent Nicastro

Remembering Milt McPike

: Last day to RSVP for a July 12 brunch at the Edgewater kicking off the Milton McPike Memorial Scholarship Fund, in honor of the, beloved East High principal of two decades.

A group of Madison East alumni has recently created the Milton McPike Memorial Scholarship Fund to honor the legacy of the high school principal who worked tirelessly for more than two decades to create an atmosphere where every student felt connected and supported.

Their goal is to not only provide scholarship awards for East graduates heading off to college, but also to mentor the students to ensure they succeed — to build on McPike’s sense of the greater community that benefits not only the students but the entire City of Madison.

“Our hope is to continue Milt’s legacy by mentoring graduates and providing the same sense of community that we enjoyed during our years at East,” said Craig Karlen, one of the scholarship fund volunteer organizers. “We’ll work be working with the East High Scholarship Committee to support promising graduates who can benefit from financial support and a mentor.”

“Mentoring is one of the most critical factors that can affect a college student’s success and our alumni are committed to helping these students make it to the finish line of college graduation,” he continued.

The Milton McPike Memorial Scholarship Fund will begin offering renewable scholarships in 2016 for East High grads headed to two- and four-year colleges in Wisconsin. To make this happen, scholarship organizers aim to first reach the financial milestone of raising $10,000 in order to make the fund permanently endowed through the Foundation for Madison’s Public Schools.

“So far, we’ve have raised over $6,000, but we need more support,” said Erin Peschel, another volunteer organizer. “Our long-term goal is to raise $100,000 by the end of 2018 — and if we do that, we’ll be able to offer a new, renewable $1,000 scholarship every year, in perpetuity.”

To kick their efforts into high gear, the scholarship organizers are hosting an official launch event on July 12 at 11 a.m. at The Edgewater.  The “Kick-Off Brunch” will include great music, food and company as they celebrate Milt McPike and all he did for East High School. The event will feature speakers whose lives were impacted by Milt McPike, including Michael Flores, Troy Dean, and Juan José López, and music from the East High family including the Yid Vicious Klezmer Ensemble.

Advance tickets are required for this brunch.  Tickets are $50 and must be purchased a week in advance of the event on Sunday, July 12: www.eventbrite.com/e/16189284586

For more information, to buy brunch tickets, and to donate, visit the group’s website at www.mcpikescholarship.org. And if you would like to get involved, you can send an email to mcpikescholarship@gmail.com or visit their Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/mcpikescholarship