New: Parsons Scholarship Fund for LGBTQ+ Youth and Allies

Thanks to the family of Betsy Parsons and the Maine Community Foundation, there is now a scholarship fund for LGBTQ+ youth and allies in Betsy’s memory. Students can apply for the scholarship on Maine Community Foundation’s website. At OUT Maine, we remember Betsy as a dear friend and volunteer. Yet she was so much more to Maine’s LGBTQ+ youth.

“For 30 years, Betsy Parsons (1954-2019) taught English in Portland high schools and fiercely advocated for Maine LGBTQ+ youth. In 1996 she observed that anti-gay hostility, language, and verbal and physical harassment were on the rise in high school hallways and classrooms.” 

Betsy helped establish the Southern Maine Chapter of GLSEN (Gay, Lesbian, and Straight Education Network) and led the way in establishing approximately 90 student clubs called GSAs (Gender and Sexuality Alliances) across Maine.  Read more on Maine Community Foundation’s website.

Betsy’s legacy lives on in the scholarship fund and in her family’s support of Rainbow Ball Weekend. We miss you, Betsy!

2022 Mitchell Scholarship

This scholarship is for all students. Mitchell Scholarships are awarded to students planning to attend two- or four-year degree programs at colleges either in- or out-of-state. The strongest applicants demonstrate financial need, academic promise, and community impact. 

The Mitchell Scholarship online application is open until April 1. 

 You can find the application link, requirements, and a few additional college and scholarship resources on the scholarship’s web site: http://mitchellinstitute.org/scholarship/