Scholarship Application

The East Greenwich Rotary Club has been giving out scholarships for deserving young high school seniors for the past 40 years, administered by a (501-c-3) board consisting of active members of the Rotary Club of East Greenwich.  Currently, $24,000 in scholarships are announced each spring and awarded over the Christmas break, when all recipients are invited to a Rotary luncheon.  Most recipients are selected by the faculty and staff at East Greenwich High School and at The Rocky Hill School.  The named scholarships are described below. 

There are three awards whose recipients are chosen by the Scholarship Fund's Board through an application process.  They are the Erickson Family Scouting Award, the Jim & Janet Essex Award for excellence in music and the arts, and the Dr. Robert E. Miller Community Service Award.  Links to the applications for these awards are in the column on the left of this page.

Howard D. Silverman Award -

Howard D. Silverman (1915-2003) was a prominent merchant on Main Street for over 40 years, working for his family’s apparel and shoe business, Herman N. Silverman, Inc.  A resident first of East Greenwich and then Warwick, he was active in numerous civic activities, including serving as a founding member and president of the Rotary Club of East Greenwich.

His other activities included teaching English to recent Russian immigrants, serving as a docent at the Rhode Island School of Design Museum, and serving as president of the East Greenwich Free Library.  He was a founder and president of Music on the Hill and tutored at Rocky Hill School; Howard was a member of the East Greenwich Chamber of Commerce and East Greenwich Preservation Society.

He became a published writer in his retirement, writing short stories based on his life growing up in East Greenwich.  He graduated from East Greenwich Academy and from Brown University.

The recipient of this $1,000 award is a college-bound senior who excels in creative writing, the arts, languages, or community service, and is selected by the East Greenwich High School Guidance Department.

Irving A. Silverman Award -

Irving A. Silverman was well-known among East Greenwich shoppers as a proprietor of Silverman’s Apparel, long a staple on Main Street.  A charter member of the Rotary Club of East Greenwich upon its founding in 1963, he served as its president in 1977-78, as our town celebrated its Tercentenary.  

Whenever Rotary participated in an event, Irving would be in the middle of it, whether boiling lobsters at Academy Field or loading citrus in the rain in December.

Selected by the EG High School Guidance Department, the recipient of this $1,000 award is selected on the basis of outstanding community service.

Arthur P. Silverman Award -

This scholarship was created to honor the extraordinary good citizenship and community involvement of Arthur Phillip Silverman.

Arthur was born in Providence in 1917 to a close-knit, caring, and nurturing family that became a pillar of the East Greenwich community where Arthur lived most of his life.  He graduated from the East Greenwich Academy in 1938 and worked until retirement for the family business, Silverman’s Apparel.

Arthur was a familiar sight visiting his many friends on Main Street, publicizing community activities, selling tickets and assuring the success of local events.  He enjoyed maintaining carefully created scrapbooks that chronicled his extensive town involvement.

The range of his activities included honorary memberships in both Rotary and the East Greenwich Chamber of Commerce Board of Directors.  Intensely patriotic, Arthur was the perennial Chair of the Chamber Flag Committee and a Marshall of the Memorial Day Parade.

An avid fan of the Boston Red Sox, Arthur could accurately quote the statistics of most any Red Sox game or player.  Many organizations relied heavily on his loyal support, from Academy Players, where he was a longtime usher, to Kent Hospital, where he served as an Incorporator for many years.

The Arthur Phillip Silverman Scholarship is a tribute to both Arthur and to the loving community that formed his world.  The recipient of this $1,000 award is a senior who is planning on a course of study at a vocational school, or who plans to study a field of technology, and is selected by the East Greenwich High School Guidance Department.

Barbara M. Tufts Award -

Barbara M. Tufts was a selfless doer whose boundless energy, great intelligence and abundant kindness garnered tangible, lasting contributions to people and the community.  Born in 1934, Barbara attended Smith College where she won many sports honors including being named to the US Field Hockey travel team.  

After settling in East Greenwich, she became involved with the EG Cooperative Children’s Center, serving as its Director for over 30 years; it was renamed in her memory the Barbara M. Tufts Cooperative Preschool.  Legions of children and their parents benefited from her innovative approach to early childhood education.  A playground in town was also renamed in her honor.  There have been at least three Barbara Tufts days officially proclaimed in EG.  The ABC News affiliate gave her a Freedom Torch award that was televised.

She served on the boards of the Girl Scouts of RI, the RI Council on Alcoholism and Chamber of Commerce.  Barbara was President of the EG/Warwick Garden  Club, the Greenwich Bay Women’s Club, the local League of Women Voters, and at the time of her death the Rotary Club of East Greenwich.  She was active in the Westminster Unitarian Church, and started the Academy Foundation.

Barbara was active in politics, elected to two terms on the EG Town Council, serving as President one term.  She loved to travel (having been all over the world), garden, and cheering on the Sox and Pats.  Most of all, she loved her family, friends and community, and wanted to make the world a better place.

The recipient of this $1,500 award will have demonstrated a zest for life and dedication to a variety of worthy activities, with a willingness to be actively involved as a contributor, as determined by the East Greenwich High School Guidance Department.

Chuck & Bea Keyes Award -

Chuck and Bea Keyes moved to East Greenwich in 1959 and began what became four decades of public service and a strong belief in giving back.  Both quickly became involved in multiple community activities for a town they loved and served.

Chuck, an auditor at AMICA Insurance, was an Army Veteran of WWII, and a graduate of Brown and Boston University.  The organizations in which Chuck participated are numerous:  Zoning Board, E.G. Ecumenical Council, E.G. School Committee, Planning Board, American Heart Association; he also served in various positions at First Baptist Church.  In the East Greenwich Rotary, Chuck served a s President and later as District Governor, and was a Paul Harris Fellow.

Bea was a registered nurse at Kent Hospital for 30 years.  As a member of First Baptist Church, Bea served on many committees, including the Board of Deacons, the Outreach Board, the Women’s Alliance, and the food pantry.  She was also a member of the Sunshine Society, and coordinated the town’s Christmas Adopt-a-Family program through the E.G. Welfare Department.  Bea enjoyed volunteering for civic events and programs including Youth Night in East Greenwich, and was a member of the E.G. Housing Authority.

Throughout their lives in East Greenwich, Chuck and Bea developed strong friendships and ties to the community for which they felt truly blessed.  This scholarship was established in their memory to aid a deserving student in their educational pursuits.

The recipient of this $1,000 award is a college-bound senior who will pursue a formal course in education or nursing, and who is involved in some form of community service; he or she is selected by the East Greenwich High School Guidance Department.