Scholarships | Girl Scouts of South Carolina—Mountains to Midlands
This generous gift for girls is made possible by the Chandler-Burns family, whose women have a three-generation history of Girl Scout membership. For Christmas 2001, Ron Burns established an endowment at the Central Carolina Community Foundation in the name of his wife, Kris Burns, to honor her mother, Bonnie Chandler, and her late grandmother, Mildred Annis Chandler. Mountains to Midlands awards this scholarship up to $1,500 annually to a college-bound Girl Scout who has earned the Girl Scout Gold Award, the highest honor a girl can achieve in Girl Scouting. Applicants from Richland and Lexington counties will be given preference. 

This generous endowment was established in 2021 by Calvin Cannon and family in the name of his wife, Sarah Brown Cannon, in honor of their 50th wedding anniversary. Mrs.  Cannon spent many years in Girl Scouts, having earned her Curved Bar, the highest award in Girl Scouting at that time, in 1964, participated in a national Wider Opportunity and many other travel opportunities, and served as a leader for two troops, a day camp volunteer, and a board member of the former Piedmont Area Girl Scout Council in Spartanburg, SC.  

Each of the Cannons' two daughters earned her Girl Scout Gold Award, and both are  troop leaders. One of their granddaughters also earned her Gold Award in 2018.  

Mrs. Cannon firmly believes that Girl Scouting equips girls for success, both now and in the future. Mountains to Midlands annually awards this scholarship of $1,000 to a Girl Scout who has earned her Gold Award, the highest honor a girl can achieve in Girl Scouting and is going on to further her education. Girl Scouts in Greenville and Spartanburg counties will be given preference. 

This scholarship was established in May 2000 to honor the memory of Pauline M. Patterson, a very special friend and colleague. As a staff member of one of Mountains to Midlands’ legacy councils, the Old 96 Girl Scout Council, Pauline served as a Field Director from 1988-1992 and as the Council’s first Older Girl Program Specialist from 1992-2000. In the older girl position, Pauline designed programming that was fun and adventurous, that reached beyond troop activities and provided girls with the incentive to look beyond themselves. She challenged girls to see that they can literally do anything if they have the desire and are willing to work hard. Pauline offered girls choices and challenges, taught them to accept the world with open arms, and inspired them to breathe in the wonderment of all life offered them. As a tribute to Pauline Patterson’s enthusiasm for life and learning, Mountains to Midlands is pleased to award this $500 scholarship annually to a high school senior for college tuition.

When Jennifer Edwards and Robin Thames saw a need in Sumter, SC, they took action to make the world a better place—in true Girl Scout fashion. Jennifer and Robin started the Jordan/Edwards Scholarship, so girls earning their Girl Scout Gold Award could apply for a scholarship.

They want Girl Scouts in Sumter to feel like they belong to an organization that recognizes their accomplishments. The scholarship is named for two Sumter girls, Kayleigh Jordan and Ivey Edwards who earned their Bronze, Silver, and Gold Awards.

An initial $1,500 investment was made.  The first $500 Jordan/Edwards Scholarship will be awarded in May 2022 to a Gold Award Girl Scout from Sumter County.  Jennifer, Robin, Kayleigh, and Ivey exemplify the hard work, commitment, and sisterly support that is unique to Girl Scouts.

The inaugural Trefoil Society Scholarship is available to any graduating senior who has completed her Gold Award. This $1,000 scholarship is made possible by the Trefoil Society, our council’s most committed and deeply invested philanthropic giving society. Its members are part of an elite network of donors who prioritize and recognize the importance of the Girl Scout Leadership Experience, the preeminent leadership program designed for and by girls. Committee members will review all submitted applicants and select the recipient, to be announced at the Highest Awards Ceremony.