Our Impact
Your Gift Does More Than Fund a Scholarship. It Helps Build a Future.
Since 2018, the Howard & Elizabeth Caldwell Foundation has been committed to helping students with disabilities pursue their dreams of higher education.
What began with a desire to provide financial assistance has grown into something much bigger.
Scholarships That Open Doors
For a student preparing for college or vocational training, financial barriers can make an already challenging transition even more difficult.
HEC Foundation scholarships help eligible students with disabilities from Baltimore City and Baltimore County pursue postsecondary education and vocational training.
But receiving a scholarship isn’t where our relationship with our students ends.
It’s where another part of the journey begins.
Our Impact Since 2018
🎓 12 Scholarships Awarded
đź’° $13,000 Awarded in Scholarships
đź“š $500 Additional Book Stipend Provided
❤️ $13,500 in Total Direct Educational Support
From 2018–2022, the HEC Foundation awarded five $500 scholarships to deserving students.
As our foundation grew, so did our commitment.
From 2023–2026, we increased our scholarship awards to $1,500 each, providing seven additional students with financial assistance toward their post-secondary education.
But along the way, we learned something important:
A scholarship can help a student get to college. Support can help them make it through.
In 2020, the HEC Foundation launched a pilot mentoring program with one of our scholarship recipients.
We didn’t simply award her a scholarship and wish her well.
We walked beside her throughout her college journey and saw her to the finish line. She graduated with a BS Degree in Kinesiology.Â
We encouraged her.
We checked in.
We celebrated her accomplishments.
We supported her through challenges.
And that experience changed the way we thought about scholarships.
We realized that for many students—particularly students with disabilities—financial assistance is only one piece of the puzzle.
Students also need someone in their corner.
Someone asking:
How are you doing?
What do you need?
How can we help?
That realization helped shape the HEC R.I.S.E. Mentoring Program, which provides our scholarship recipients with continued guidance, encouragement, connection, and support as they navigate their post-secondary journey.
We’re Not Just Funding College. We’re Walking the Journey With Them.
When you donate to the Howard & Elizabeth Caldwell Foundation, you’re helping us provide more than a check.
You’re helping a student with a disability know:
Someone believes in me. Someone is invested in my future. And I don’t have to navigate this journey alone.
Your donation helps support scholarships, mentoring opportunities, educational workshops, books and school supplies, and resources that help our students continue moving toward graduation.
What Could Your Gift Do?
$25 can help provide essential school supplies.
$50 can help offset the cost of books and course materials.
$100 can support student resources, mentoring activities, and workshops.
$500 can make a significant contribution toward a student’s educational expenses.
$1,500 can fund an entire HEC Foundation scholarship.
And gifts of any amount help us continue this work.
You don’t have to give $1,500 to make a difference.
Every gift becomes part of a student’s journey.
Help Us Support the Next Student
Twelve students have already received HEC Foundation scholarships.
But there are more students with disabilities preparing for college, vocational training, and other post-secondary opportunities who need someone willing to invest in their potential.
You can be part of their story.
Give today. Invest in a student. Help build a future.
R.I.S.E. — Support Beyond the Scholarship
Resilient • Integrity • Successful • Educated
Going to college is one accomplishment.
Navigating college successfully is another.
The HEC Foundation created the R.I.S.E. Mentoring Program to provide scholarship recipients with continued encouragement, guidance, connection, and practical support as they navigate college and young adulthood.
Through mentor relationships, regular check-ins, virtual workshops, and opportunities for personal and professional development, R.I.S.E. helps students know they don’t have to navigate their journey alone.
R.I.S.E. provides:
- Individual mentor support and regular check-ins
- Quarterly educational and personal-development workshops
- College and career readiness support
- Opportunities to strengthen self-advocacy and independence
- A supportive community of mentors and peers
- An annual book and school-supply stipend for eligible active participants
The Impact Reaches Families, Too
When a student succeeds, the impact extends far beyond one individual.
Families are an important part of the HEC community.
Through educational resources, family-centered activities, community events, and opportunities to connect, we work to strengthen the network surrounding students.
Because we believe:
Strong Families Build Strong Communities.
DONATEÂ Today