Teen SOYO

Francis Maria Scholarships

Through a generous gift of the Francis Maria Foundation for Justice and Peace, the Antiochian Orthodox Christian Archdiocese of North America will once again grant several scholarships in the amount of $2,500 to students attending an accredited College.

Scholarships will be granted each July. Completed 2011 Francis Maria Scholarship Application and all supporting documentation must be postmarked by May 15, 2011 and received by May 22.

Please note that you will need the free Adobe acrobat reader to open this file, if you do not already have it installed on your computer.

For the financial Need section, which is worth up to 10% you will need to submit the page from your free FAFSA financial forms that shows your Expected Family Contribution (EFC) - include this page with your application and be sure that the applicant and at least one parent sign that page.

About the founder of the Francis Maria Foundation for Justice and Peace, Francis Maria: 

 Francis "Frank" Maria of Pump­kin Hill, Warner, N.H., who established the Francis Maria Fund for Justice and Peace, was born in Lowell, Mass., to Syrian Arab Christian immigrants. He earned a bachelor's degree from Boston University and did advanced work through the BU­/Harvard Extension Program. An English teacher and coach at Tewksbury, Lowell and Newtonschools in Massachusetts, he later served with the U.S. Marines, for which he developed leadership training programs during World War II. After the war, Mr. Maria was personnel manager for the Merrimack Manufacturing Co., Lowell, which employed more than 7,500 persons at the time. He became known as an innova­tor and reformer, whose ideas benefited workers. Later, he became an independent consultant, teaching human relations and personnel policy. He also undertook special assignments for government, industry and health care organizations.

A lecturer with international credits, Mr. Maria has devoted much of his life to enhancing international understanding, both at the governmental and individual levels. Named by President Eisenhower to the U.S. delegation for the UNESCO general session in 1960,M r. Maria has served on numerous diplomatic, refugee relief and ecumenical initiatives. He also has made many contributions to civic projects in Lowell and Warner.

He presided over the Federation (predecessor to Senior SOYO) Convention in 1950. He represented the Antiochian Archdiocese at the World Council of Churches general assembly in 1983 and served as a member of the Antiochian Archdiocese delegation to the National Council of Churches. He was a founder of e American Arabic Association (AMARA), and in 1981, he received its Distinguished Public Service Award. Metropolitan Philip presented Frank Maria the Antonian Gold Medal in 1993. The University of New Hampshire presented Mr. Maria an honorary doctoral degree in 1994.

Dr Maria established the Francis Maria Fund for Justice and Peace at the Antiochian Archdiocese prior to his death with a $100,000 donation. Following his death, the Francis Maria Foundation for Justice and Peace gave an additional donation of $125,000 bringing the current fund with interest earned to approximately $280,000. The Maria Foundation expressed its desire that 75% of the Annual income from this Fund be used to grant scholarships to young people attending institutions of higher learning.

Those wishing to increase this scholarship fund may make donations to the Antiochian Archdiocese earmarked for the Francis Maria Scholarship Fund.

Eastern Orthodox Committee on Scouting Scholarship

Offer two $1,000 scholarships and one $500.00 scholarship

The eligibility requirements are:

• Be a registered active member of a Boy or Girl Scout unit
• Have earned the Eagle Scout Award for boys or the Gold Award for Girls
• Be an active member of an Eastern Orthodox Church and must have earned the Alpha Omega Religious Scout Award
• Have demonstrated practical citizenship in their church, school, Scouting unit, and community
• Be enrolled in an accredited U.S. high school and in their final year

Submit four letters of recommendation with the application; one letter from leaders of each of the following groups: religious institution, school, community leader, and head of Scouting unit.The Eastern Orthodox Committee on Scouting Scholarship Committee will award the three national scholarships to the recipients who best meet the qualifications and not on a "need" basis.

Applications can be obtained from

and they must be submitted by May 1st of each year. The national winners will be announced in June of each year.