Scholarships
The Impressive Koncepts Foundation Scholarship Committee will award two scholarships to individuals who are residence of South Carolina who will attend an accredited institution of higher education. This scholarship will be paid to any accredited college/university the student chooses to attend in the name of the recipient for the upcoming academic year.
The scholarship was established in memory of Fredrick Gillens, an entrepreneur and former student-athlete at Clemson University. The purpose of the scholarship is to provide support to students who have a love and determination to be successful in school, attend, and graduate from college. The ideal recipient of this scholarship will be a high school student-athlete who has a big heart to help others in addition to meeting the requirements below:
• Student must be a senior accepted into an accredited college or university. Please provide a copy of the acceptance letter or provisional letter of acceptance.
• Student must have one signed-letter of recommendation from a teacher, coach, or athlete director. This letter should include the Senior Awards Day date, so that a member from the Scholarship Committee can make plans to attend and make the award presentation.
• Student must submit an official high school transcript.
• Student must submit 90 second video explaining your most significant athletic accomplishment and one example of an act of kindness you have performed for others.
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Big Heart Scholarship Recipient
Camrahn L. Jamison
Munch and Move
Impressive Koncepts Foundation, a non-profit organization located in Columbia, SC proposes to establish the Munch and Move program to service 60 youth ages 10-17 with the goals of (1) increasing youth knowledge of, and participation in, home exercise, (2) understanding of proper nutrition and healthy food choices for daily living, and (3) lifelong healthy attitudes and habits regarding exercise and nutrition.
Each quarter, 15 youth will complete the Munch and Move program. At the end of the year, we will have served 60 youth from our target population. We expect 30-40% of our target population will be from low-to-moderate income and single-parent homes.
Eligibility Information
Per the First Citizens Foundation guidelines, Impressive Koncepts, Inc. is a non-profit organization recognized by the IRS as a Section 501(c)(3) organization as a public. Nearly 18% of Richland County, South Carolina youth between the ages of 10-17 are obese, and another 18% are overweight.' According to Prisma Health in 2019, overweight and obesity is listed as the top health concern for many counties in South Carolina, with Richland County being a high-priority focus.” Between 15%-17% of South Carolina high school students have experienced suicidal thoughts at least once.? Both sedentary lifestyles and mental health issues have increased for youth due to COVID-19.*
The proposed Munch and Move program is designed to address the needs of youth to participate in physical activity and partake of a nutritional diet despite the barriers of poverty, low parent availability, COVID-19 quarantine, or lack of geographical area opportunity.
Specifically, Munch and Move aims to help youth build healthy exercise and nutrition habits through the education to invent opportunities for physical activity within the home or wherever they may be, to creatively meet nutritional needs with limited resources, and to recognize the physical, mental, and emotional benefits of both regular physical activity and balanced nutritional intake. This will be done in a virtual group environment for social learning and support as a way to increase confidence, peer support, and self-motivation.
The Munch and Move program will be aligned with the purpose of First Citizens Foundation (FCF) to “provide social, educational, and/or health services for low-to-moderate income individuals” and meets the FCF’s areas of interest including youth, education, community development, and health. While Impressive Koncepts Foundation services the wider South Carolina area, Munch and Move will focus on Richland School District 2, Columbia, South Carolina as the building foundation for the program.
Below are additional statistics that support the need for this program:
The percentage of youth in Richland County who live a sedentary lifestyle is 26%, which is slightly higher than the national average of 23%.°
®Our target population has a high overweight or obese youth rate of 36%, placing it in the top 90" percentile for overweight and obese youth in the United States.®
Between 45%-50% of youth in Richland County experience low self-esteem,’ and between 10%-15% struggle with mental illness symptoms at any given time.
"Get On The Ball" Charity Event
We are so excited about our 6th Annual "GET ON THE BALL" Charity Event.
In the past five years, we have collected athletic equipment, basketballs, volleyballs, tennis balls, football and soccer balls to donate to a local gym. We have sponsored Brookland Baptist Gymnasium, Martin Luther King Park , Caughman Road Park, Friars Gate Park and Orangeburg Consolidated School District 3.
We are so excited to share with you that we have partnered with an organization that will purchase ALL of the balls for this years "Ball Raiser". The balls will be donated to our local parks.
I am asking that each of you come prepared to provide a sponsorship and to partner with us as we expand our vision to spread health and wellness as well as provide adequate equipment to our youth and seniors . Checks can be made payable to Impressive Koncepts Foundation.
#53 Club
Youth Entrepreneur Club started Anna Logan and Fredrick Gillens. This club provides mentorship for young people who have lost a loved one. After losing their dad at the ages 13(Anna Logan) and 12 (Fredrick) wanted to provide an outlet to speak about their dad that passed suddenly and help to encourage others.