Scholarship Awards
Our largest community donation is for awarding scholarships to high school seniors that are continuing their education by going to either college or a trade school after graduating from high school. Each applicant is required to write a 500-word essay on “Why Freedom isn’t Free.” It’s always difficult for the committee to determine the best essays from the many received. We will be accepting scholarship applications starting in January 2027.
Nurse Scholarship
Each January we award a special scholarship for a deserving student, who is related to a veteran and is currently and or will be attending college to become a nurse. It's a $5000 scholarship and the money for the scholarship has been donated by our members. New applications for the 2027 scholarship will be accepted in the fall 2026.
2026 Winner
Scholarship winner Madison Brinkman was award the $500 Nurse scholarship by our scholarship committee and Board Members.
Cumming Chapter 1030 of the Vietnam Veterans of America awarded a new scholarship honoring the memory of member Thoams G. Kirby on January 17th to a third-year nursing student and graduate of North Forsyth High School.
Madison Brinkman studying nursing at the Cumming Campus of the University of North Georgia is the recipient of the first annual nursing scholarship awarded to honor Thomas Kirby
Kirby was a Navy Corpsman in Vietnam and that is where he began a lifelong respect and admiration for nurses who he recognized were responsible for saving numerous American military personnel during the Vietnam War.
At a packed house at the Bennett Conference room at Northside Hospital Forsyth, Ms. Brinkman was presented a five-thousand-dollar check and a certificate with photos of Kirby as a young sailor and as the driving force behind much of the chapters work on behalf of veterans and communities needy.
According to chapter President Joe Donner, "When Tom passed last year, our membership knew immediately that a scholarship for nursing students in his name was a project our group needed to take on. I am proud to point out that through the generosity of our members, the nurse scholarship award was fully funded within our organization."
2026 Winners
All of our winners honored the service and sacrifice of Georgia Veterans who made the ultimate sacrifice during the Vietnam War.
Left to right: Robert Beall from Northside High School scholarship honored Johnson Minnittee of Ellenwood; Soffia Lafferty of South Forsyth High School honored lst Lieutenant Gary Jones of East Point; Ellery Rowell of Forsyth Central honored Sergeant First Class Jeppie Payne of Fannin County; Elizabeth Clark od
West Forsyth High School honored PFC Jerry Poe and Josuha Winter of East Forsyth High School honored Larry Hulsey of Gainsville.