Calling All High School Women Leaders!

Do you have an outstanding daughter who is a junior or senior in high school or know someone who is? If so, The Community Chest in Englewood wants to know about her. The Community Chest is now accepting applications for its third annual High School Young Woman's Leadership Awards. The awards will be given to two outstanding female students enrolled in her junior or senior years residing and/or attending a public or private high school in eastern Bergen County.  

The Community Chest’s Leadership Scholarship not only helped me financially advance my educational career, but also allowed me the opportunity to reflect on female leadership and meet incredible women across many different fields.  Today, I still hold close all that the scholarship has provided me and am thankful for the experience. -Michelle Yu, pictured with Dr. Shelly Wimpfheimer, Executive Director of The Community Chest, is a 2018 High School Young Woman's Leadership Award recipient, who is currently pursuing a bachelor of arts in film and media studies with a concentration in sociology at Columbia University.

Ideal candidates should demonstrate a passion for leadership, compassion, innovation and the courage of their convictions in their community.  They are required to complete an online application, answer essay questions, submit a student resume and present two recommendations. Applicants living in and/or attending a school in any of these towns may apply: Alpine, Bergenfield, Closter, Cresskill, Demarest, Dumont, Englewood, Englewood Cliffs, Harrington Park, Haworth, Northvale, Norwood, Old Tappan, Rockleigh and Tenafly.  

About the Awards

The Community Chest's High School Senior Young Woman's Leadership Award provides a $2,000 scholarship to the finalist.  Applicants must complete an online application available online at bit.ly/TheChestSenior. The deadline to apply is Sunday, March 1, 2020.  

This year, The Chest is also giving a Junior Young Woman's Leadership Award. The finalist will receive a $250 award and an opportunity to participate in an internship with a local nonprofit during the school year or summer.  Applicants must complete and submit an online application available at http://bit.ly/TheChestJunior.

Through a highly competitive process, applications will be reviewed by a group of women leaders, who have volunteered to judge the applications.  The award recipients will be announced and honored at a breakfast on May 1 at St. Paul's Church in Englewood.

Dr. Shelly Wimpfheimer, Executive Director of The Community Chest on the left with 2019 High School Young Woman's Leadership Award recipient Alexa Miller.

The annual awards celebration remembers three women from the area and the leadership they demonstrated throughout their lives.  During the Great Depression, Elizabeth Cutter, a resident of Englewood, became the founding board chair of The Community Chest.  Elisabeth Morrow Morgan, the founder of The Elisabeth Morrow School, grew up in Englewood. Tenafly resident Elizabeth Cady Stanton was a leader in the suffragette movement.

The Community Chest welcomes donations from the public to recognize the work of these young women.  Contributions of any amount to support the awards and the event on May 1 may be sent by check with payment made out to The Community Chest, located at 122 South Van Brunt Street, Englewood, New Jersey, 07631.  Visit The Chest's website, www.thecommunitychestebc.org, for more information about the High School Young Woman's Leadership Awards, the event and the organization's mission and work.

For further information about the High School Young Woman's Leadership Awards, contact Executive Director Dr. Shelly Wimpfheimer, Ph.D. at (201) 568-7474.