August 30, 2024 

The Red Cloud Community Foundation Fund is pleased to congratulate Mariah Delka and Bailey James as recent recipients of the John and Dorothy Sherwood Memorial Scholarship. This scholarship supports adult, non-traditional students, who live or work in the Red Cloud community. The purpose of the scholarship is to provide financial assistance to community members working to obtain additional certifications or degrees that will enable them to be part of the local workforce.

Mariah Delka is pursuing a master’s degree in curriculum and instruction through Peru State College. She holds a bachelor’s degree in early childhood inclusive and is currently employed as the preschool teacher at Blue Hill Elementary School. Mariah also serves on the board of the Auld Public Library and does pyramid model coaching at homes and child care centers to help support social emotional learning in Adams, Webster, Clay, and Nuckolls counties.

Bailey James is part of a transitional certification program (TCP) through the University of Nebraska at Kearney. This two-year program is designed for people returning to college to obtain a teaching certificate. Baily earned a bachelor’s degree in accounting and finance from Fort Hays State University. She is currently employed as business teacher for Red Cloud Community Schools, where she is also the track coach, National Honor Society sponsor, and the eighth-grade class sponsor.
 

Established in 1995, the Red Cloud Community Foundation Fund is an affiliated fund of the Nebraska Community Foundation. The Fund now has over $3.2 million in assets and works to award scholarships and grants to key community needs. In addition to scholarships, focus areas include downtown revitalization, enhanced recreation, healthcare, improved housing and infrastructure, early childhood development, and heritage tourism development. Fund Advisory Committee members are Jarrod McCartney (Chair), Danny Benge (Vice Chair), Stacie Heldt (Secretary), Dennis Hansen (Treasurer), Ashley Armstrong, Karla Burgess, Kim Ely, Miles McDole, Ashley Olson, Adam Vetter, and John A (Jay) Yost.