Helen Boots posing for WWII Women's Army Corps (WAC) Recruitment Posters.
CHENEY- Cheney American Legion Auxiliary Unit 72 is offering a new $1,000 scholarship honoring the life of longtime Cheney resident, Helen Boots.
Boots has a long history of dedication to the American Legion Auxiliary where she eventually served as the Washington State Auxiliary President.
One of the creators of the scholarship, Margie Foland, found Boots' commitment to service and community an inspiration within the Cheney community. She and other committee members decided a scholarship would actively preserve her legacy.
"I was an educator, and she was an educator so it just seemed fitting to honor her as an auxiliary member in this way," Foland said.
Foland and the rest of her subcommittee have made the requirements for the scholarship to reflect certain attributes of Boots life.
"They have to be a high school senior, and a female that is graduating this year, and they have to have immediate family in the military or veteran. Like a mother, a father, or a grandparent," Foland said. "It's women recognizing young women."
Applicants of the Helen Boots Scholarship must also be a student at Cheney High School, the same school Boots graduated from in 1938.
Students at CHS can get access to the application through their school counselors, whom Foland has kept involved in the launch of the scholarship.
The scholarship was started by a posthumous donation made to the auxiliary from Boots herself but the money was not originally intended for scholarship purposes.
COVID put a pause on things, and left the auxiliary with a surplus of funds, which the board of directors then donated to the auxiliary committee, allowing them to begin the scholarship.
Gayle Fittje, the auxiliary president, is ready for the positive and new opportunity that has emerged after two years of COVID.
"This is our first year, and it's something we're hoping that we can continue even if we raise money or get donations to make it an annual thing. It's the beginning of something new that we haven't done before," Fittje said. "Helen is a big part of the auxiliary and Cheney. She was a veteran and she took on a role in the auxiliary that she didn't need to but she did."
Foland and Fittje hope that the scholarship can be an annual opportunity that supports the mission and values of Boots and the auxiliary.
"We just think she needs to be honored. I mean, she created a legacy in this town and being a supportive military organization, we wanted to support that," Foland said. "I want this to fly and I want this to be successful."
The application closes on June 17. The recipient will be announced on June 30.
Michaela is a former newsroom intern at the Cheney Free Press. She covered stories on education, city government, cops/courts/fire departments and local businesses.
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