Second student reports delay in receiving scholarship money from Juneteenth Foundation
Second student reports not receiving scholarship money from Juneteenth Foundation
A second student is reporting not receiving scholarship money promised by The Juneteenth Foundation after FOX 5 reported in September, that a college senior from Prince George's County was still waiting on a $10,000 scholarship promised to her over the summer. FOX 5's Nana-Séntuo Bonsu has the story.
WASHINGTON - A student at Delaware State University is sounding the alarm about an organization in D.C.
In September, FOX 5 told you the story of a college senior from Prince George's who was waiting on a $10,000 scholarship from The Juneteenth Foundation, and eventually received her money several weeks after school began.
Now another student, Erica Carroll, says she is saddened and disappointed in the runaround she has run received while trying to get the money promised to her.
"This is 20,000 dollars. That is literally going to cover a third of my tuition. This is a lot of money," said Carroll.
Over the summer Carroll and 24 other students were informed that they were recipients of The Juneteenth Foundation's scholarship for students attending Historically Black Colleges.
Carroll is currently in her last year of graduate school studying social work.
Erica Carroll
She says in order to receive her $20,000 award she must attend The Juneteenth Festival in D.C. that was held at Warner Theatre.
"I felt really celebrated and honored and it was a fun experience," said Carroll.
An experience she didn't realize would be so difficult. After the event in June, she spent the summer following up with the foundation about her scholarship.
When the beginning of the school came around and she didn't hear anything from the foundation, her school stepped in.
In an email from the budget director at DSU they say:
"We have not been able to get into contact with anyone from the Juneteenth Foundation. However, since you were promised the funds, the Foundation is going to cover the cost so that so that you are not further inconvenienced."
After weeks of back-and-forth emails with the foundation we had a chance to speak to Charles Hurley, a board member with the foundation.
READ MORE: Family says Juneteenth Foundation withheld $10,000 scholarship from winner
FOX 5 asked about the lack of communication.
"I wouldn't say that because a lot of it had to be communicated with the schools. Sometimes they [universities] were the ones that were lacking in terms of communicating with us," said Charles Noah Hurley.
Carroll disagrees. "This is not a situation of miscommunication or human error; this is a pattern."
Hurley says The Juneteenth Foundation is growing. They're going into their third year and they are still working on logistics, processes and the best way to distribute funds to students.
"I think it's about timing for some of this stuff and it can be avoided next time and I'm positive it will be now that we have had this to learn for," said Hurley.
Hurley says most of the 25 scholarship recipients have their money and they are working with two other students to get their funds.
Erica has a message for the students.
"My goal is to ring the alarm and bring awareness to this. I don't want this to happen in the future. I don't want any other student to fall victim to this. I don't want this organization to behave in ways that I feel are inappropriate," says Carroll.
FOX 5 did reach out to Delaware State University to see if they received the money from the foundation.
Due to student privacy, they can't share that information with us, but Carroll plans to follow up.