Wells Group first to support new scholarship program at Fort Lewis College

The Wells Group Durango has taken the lead in a new scholarship program to provide area students with the financial support they need to reach their college dreams.

The Fort Lewis College (FLC) Foundation is tasked with raising $69,000 for the new scholarship, which is part of the Colorado Opportunity Scholarship Initiative (COSI). That money will be matched by COSI for a total of $138,000. The total will support students at FLC, as well as students from La Plata and Montezuma counties.

John Wells and Jim Wotkyns of the Wells Group were the first to step forward and contributed $5,000 to the FLC Foundation’s goal. Mr. Wells is the chair of the Board of Trustees for Fort Lewis College.

“We at the Wells Group are grateful to live in a community as wonderful as Durango, and we’re always looking for ways to support our neighbors,” says Mr. Wells. “Helping to make the great education that Fort Lewis College provides available to more students who will become the leaders of tomorrow is an investment in a better future for all of us.”

“A deep felt thank you to the Wells Group for their leadership and commitment to this scholarship fund,” says Mark Jastorff, FLC vice president for Institutional Advancement. “When your gift of $100 becomes $200, and those funds are helping local students’ dreams of a college education come true, that’s a true win-win.”

In 2014, the Colorado state legislature committed $35 million to create a network of student support and scholarship programs throughout the state to boost the attainment of postsecondary credentials.

The Colorado Opportunity Scholarship Initiative uses matching funds to leverage millions of dollars of new private scholarship investments for local communities. Every dollar donated will double in value, staying here in the Four Corners.

If you’re interested in supporting the COSI match, visit www.fortlewis.edu/COSI to make a donation or contact Suzanne Connors, director of FLC Alumni Engagement and Annual Giving, at 970-247-7177. To learn more about the Colorado Opportunity Scholarship Initiative, visit http://ColoradoScholarshipInitiative.org.