Pictured is Pailin Nicole Cheeks, in her 2017 school photo, courtesy of NEAAAT.
The fund will support the Northeast Academy for Aerospace and Advanced Technologies with annual scholarships to NEAAAT graduating seniors.
Dr. Andrew Harris, CEO of NEAAAT, fondly remembers Cheeks’ smile and positive demeanor. “Pailin was a light to all those who knew her and we are honored to celebrate her legacy, now and forever, through the Pailin Nicole Cheeks Memorial Scholarship Fund,” he said. “Annual scholarships made possible through this fund will have a lasting impact on NEAAAT students and their families for many generations to come."
Peel is grateful to have a hand in administering this important fund. “We are grateful to hold this special fund that will provide much needed scholarships to NEAAAT students in our region,” she said. “The North Carolina Community Foundation is proud to work to inspire philanthropy across our community.”
Tax-deductible contributions, made payable to the Pailin Nicole Cheeks Memorial Scholarship Fund, can be mailed to the North Carolina Community Foundation, 204 S. Poindexter Street Elizabeth City, NC 27909. Contributions can also be made online at nccommunityfoundation.org. Please include the name of the fund when making a gift.
For further information, contact NCCF Regional Director Natalie Peel at 252-562-9824 or npeel@nccommunityfoundation.org or visit the NCCF website at nccommunityfoundation.org.
About the Northeast Academy for Aerospace and Advanced Technologies
NEAAAT is an innovative regional STEM school located on the campus of Elizabeth City State University. With interdisciplinary project-based learning at its core, NEAAAT emphasizes the development of critical thinking and problem solving skills through highly engaging, real-world problems and projects. The learning environment emphasizes accountability while working in small teams, hands-on construction of real products and prototypes, and pervasive use of technologies to support learning, both in and out of the classroom.
About the Northern Albemarle Community Foundation
The Northern Albemarle Community Foundation was founded in 2001 and is an affiliate foundation of the North Carolina Community Foundation. NACF is led by a local volunteer advisory board that helps build community assets through the creation of permanent endowments, makes grants and leverages leadership – all for the benefit of Camden, Gates, Pasquotank and Perquimans counties. In addition to Watson, board members include: Dan Askew, Grafton Beaman, Brian Beasley, Phyllis Bosomworth, Angela Cole, Rebecca Elliott, Brenda Lassiter, David Pureza, Rodney Walton and Matt Wood.
About the North Carolina Community Foundation
The NCCF is the single statewide community foundation serving North Carolina and has administered more than $130 million in grants since its inception in 1988. With nearly $247 million in assets, NCCF sustains 1,200 endowments established to provide long-term support of a broad range of community needs, nonprofit organizations, institutions and scholarships. The NCCF partners with a network of affiliate foundations to provide local resource allocation and community assistance across the state. An important component of NCCF’s mission is to ensure that rural philanthropy has a voice at local, regional and national levels.
For more information, visit nccommunityfoundation.org, like us on Facebook and follow us on LinkedIn and Twitter @NCCF.