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History

On October 26, 1990, the administration of Roosevelt High School in Portland ,OR announced the establishment of the Theodore Roosevelt Fund for Girls. This scholarship fund, however, has its origins in 1977-78 when the John and Mary Mock family bequeathed $275,000.00 in trust to male students at Roosevelt for scholarships. The interest from this principal sum was to be used for annual scholarships for graduating students at the school. The establishment of a scholarship fund for girls had been discussed by those at Roosevelt following the announcement in 1977-78 but nothing substantive resulted.

Upon his retirement in 1981, a Roosevelt faculty member gave $100.00 for the initial contribution for the Girls Scholarships. However, nothing of substance occurred thereafter until 1984. In 1984 the retiring principal at Roosevelt, Mr. Bill Gray, made a simple request of the new principal: to make the girls scholarship a reality. From 1984 until the announcement in October 1990, the funding for the scholarship was carried out in an informal, yet substantive manner. Contributions came from numerous sources: friends and alumni of Roosevelt, former and current staff of Roosevelt, the RHS Boosters, the North Portland Enhancement Committee, the Peninsula Optimists of North Portland, and individuals and groups associated with the school.

The Roosevelt administration in 1984 realized that while other priorities existed in the school, it was best to pursue a low-key informal approach which would yield substantive results irrespective of any timeline. The announcement of the scholarship and the initial Board of Trustees occurred on October 26, 1990 at a special assembly of the Roosevelt Student Body with a special guest: the retired former principal who requested that the girls' scholarship become a reality. In fact, the announcement was made to honor the birthday of Theodore Roosevelt and the girls at Roosevelt, with a birthday cake and ribbons for each of the girls.

In 1990 the fund totaled $24,000.00 and was deposited in a banking institution because the girls' scholarship is discriminatory like that of the boys and contrary to School District No. 1 policy. The initial Board of Trustees consisted of five people closely linked to Roosevelt, three alumni and two former staff members. Since that time new trustees have been appointed to the Board which now numbers twelve. At our annual meeting in July of 2007, TRWSA reported that since 1984 the principal fund had grown to nearly $160,000.00 and $88,000.00 had been awarded in scholarships. This is truly a remarkable accomplishment in this noble cause. The fund continues to grow to this day shepherded by boardmembers committed to its cause.