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Green Ridge Recycling and Disposal Facility, LLC (Green Ridge) recently congratulated the 11 Cumberland County students who received this year’s Green Ridge Scholarships from the Cumberland County Public Schools Foundation.

This is the second group of students to be awarded the Green Ridge Scholarships with 11 members of the 2021 graduating class of Cumberland High School representing the first class to be eligible for the scholarship. This year also saw two current college students from Cumberland County who received Green Ridge Scholarships in 2021 do so again to help them continue their college education. A full list of the recipients can be found below.

In December 2020, Green Ridge created a $60,000 scholarship fund for Cumberland County Public Schools students to fund $12,000 worth of educational scholarships annually over the succeeding five years. The money is awarded to minority students, low-income students and students who are the first generation in their family to pursue a post-secondary education program. The Cumberland County Public Schools Foundation oversees scholarship applications, amounts and recipients.

Below is the list of 2021 and 2022 Scholarship recipients and the schools they are attending or planning to attend.

2022 COLLEGE RECIPIENTS

• Mark Patterson, Old Dominion University

• Ebony Aruz-Tellez, Longwood University

2022 HIGH SCHOOL  GRADUATE RECIPIENTS

• Calvin Foster, Virginia Commonwealth University

• Cooper Ellis, George Mason University

• Kyler Gilliam, Virginia Commonwealth University

• Wyatt Pence, George Mason University

• Chelsea Moorefield, Longwood University

• Jack McCutchen, University of Vermont

• Ashley Worrell, University of Virginia

• Daniel Stone, Liberty University

• Sheila Robinson, Virginia Commonwealth University

2021 HIGH SCHOOL GRADUATE RECIPIENTS

• Mark Patterson, Randolph College

• Ebony Aruz-Tellez, Longwood University

• Essence Ayers, East Carolina University

• Carly Thompson, Virginia Commonwealth University

• Muzzammil Fulani, Virginia State University

• Maleeyah Scruggs, University of Mary Washington

• Jeremy Johnson, Virginia State University

• Elizabeth Newman, Radford University

• Janaia Trent, North Carolina A&T

• Lorraine Foster, Southside Virginia Community College

• Nadia Elasha, Virginia Commonwealth University

“I want to congratulate the recipients of these scholarships for their commitment to education and taking the next step to secure a bright future. They are examples of hard work and dedication, and I am confident that they will continue to enjoy success as they pursue their career goals in college,” said Jerry Cifor, president of Green Ridge. “These scholarships are another example of Green Ridge’s commitment to support the community and our way of helping to make Cumberland County an even better place to live, work and learn. We look forward to being a strong partner in the community for years to come.”

The $60,000 scholarship fund is one of many donations that Green Ridge has made to support the Cumberland County community and the students of Cumberland County Schools. In 2019, Green Ridge provided more than $4,200 to Cumberland County High School for new band uniforms. That same year Green Ridge paid the County $400,000 to close a budget shortfall which otherwise would have led to a reduction in services or a tax increase for Cumberland County residents. In 2021, Green Ridge announced the donation of $250,000 to Cumberland County to be used to develop three new parks in the county.

Green Ridge Recycling and Disposal Facility is expected to provide $74 million in host fees over the 30-year life of the project; $7.5 million in donations to Cumberland County Public Schools for an environmental science education program; $15 million in machinery, equipment and tools taxes; and $7.5 million in county recreation programs – in addition to the real estate property taxes and other taxes and fees that will be paid. Green Ridge will also provide free waste disposal and recycling for County buildings and all County residents – saving Cumberland $650,000 every year.