Scholarship fund

In honor of Mary Bayard and the hundreds of lives who found help through her warmth, caring and dedication to their healing, we created the Hope in Healing Fund: Mary Bayard honorary scholarship in the spring of 2009.

As Shepherd's Clinical Supervisor from 1993 to 2009, Mary Bayard's was the first voice potential survivors heard in response to their request for help.

Mary's reassuring and welcoming presence has eased the very difficult first steps to begin healing for hundreds of men and women. They often expressed to her in their first visit that they felt hope for the first time.

You could see the pain it caused Mary when we couldn't offer a client enough financial assistance for them to be able to receive services. Without a dedicated fund, serving our lowest fee clients can easily compromise our ability to serve other clients.

In honor of Mary's dedication to each and every survivor of childhood sexual abuse and to Shepherd's mission of providing affordable services for all, we created the Hope in Healing Fund. This scholarship fund fills the gap making this great level of assistance available for survivors who need it.

The Hope in Healing Fund is a pool of funding dedicated solely to providing financial assistance to our clients who need the greatest amount of additional funding to access services. We are able to support scholarship clients based on donations in the fund. Approximately $1,000 provides a scholarship to a client for one year of weekly individual therapy sessions.

Marjorie was the first Hope in Healing Fund: Mary Bayard honorary scholarship recipient. Her story is in the 2010 Hope in Healing Fund campaign letter.

In its first year, the Hope in Healing Fund provided scholarships to five women and four men to receive Shepherd's specialized therapy. Each recipient receives a scholarship for a minimum of six months of weekly therapy, to continue if needed, so they can experience profound, long-term healing from childhood sexual abuse.

If you would like to be a Hope in Healing Guardian, the following leadership gift opportunities are available:

• A gift of $1,000 or more pledged over one year
• A gift of $5,000 or more pledged over three years
• A gift of $5,000 or more dedicated in wills, trusts, annuities and bequests.

Hope in Healing Guardians will be recognized on a designated donor plaque displayed at Shepherd's Counseling Services.

"I hope this scholarship fund will create a source of funding clients can rely on into the future so we don't ever have to turn someone away who has come to Shepherd's asking for our help," Mary Bayard says. "Hope in healing really says it all."

To donate to the scholarship fund using PayPal, please go to our Donate page and:

• use the drop-down menu for recurring (or pledged) gifts to designate your gift to the scholarship fund, or
• for a one-time gift, please type "Hope in Healing" or "Scholarship Fund" in the notes section and we will designate your gift accordingly.

For information on how to mail or call in a donation, visit our Donate page. Our annual fund drive to support scholarships throughout the year is held each spring. Please contact Jill Armitage by email or phone (206) 321-2684 with any questions.