Main Street Community Foundation is accepting applications for the Jake Gilbert Memorial Culinary Arts Scholarship Fund from graduating seniors or current college students from Bristol, Burlington, Plainville, Plymouth, Southington, and Wolcott pursuing post-secondary education in the field of culinary arts. The deadline for all application submissions is March 10, 2023, and a $5,000 scholarship will be awarded.

A full list of scholarships available, their eligibility criteria and links to the online application are available on the Foundation website, www.mainstreetfoundation.org/apply-for-scholarship.

This scholarship fund was established in 2022 by the Robert Rosenheim Foundation and the family of Jake Gilbert in his memory. Jake was a Burlington resident who was diagnosed with a rare, aggressive soft tissue sarcoma in 2019. He fought hard for four years, undergoing surgeries, radiation, chemotherapy, and clinical trial drugs with the support of his family and friends. He passed away on October 21, 2022 at the young age of 24.

Everything was a science to Jake, whether it was gardening with his compost tea, or his salt and freshwater fish tanks, or his love of the culinary arts. Jake studied Culinary Arts at Johnson & Wales University, and this scholarship not only honors his legacy but will help inspire other culinary students who have the same passion that Jake had for food.

If you have any questions or would like more information about this or other scholarships, contact Samantha Rajotte, Scholarship & Program Officer, at 860.583.6363 or samantha@mainstreetfoundation.org.

Anyone interested in donating to the Jake Gilbert Memorial Culinary Arts Scholarship Fund can donate online at www.mainstreetfoundation.org/JakeGilbertScholarship, or can send donations to Main Street Community Foundation, P.O. Box 2702, Bristol, CT 06010.