In its first year of existence, the Butler County Foster and Adoptive Parent Association will be sending one individual to college with a little extra help.

Tiffany Faulkner has received a $1,500 scholarship that will help her when attending the University of North Alabama in the fall.

“We didn’t want to be just an inward organization,” Scholarship Committee Co-Chairperson Lindsey Croley said. “It was important to us that we reached out.”

After raising about $400 from doughnut sales, the group sent letters to local businesses and elected officials, which helped raise more than it ever thought imaginable.

“We had a great response,” Croley said. “We were able to raise $1,500, which was much more than what we had first anticipated.”

Faulkner said this is just a great first step in helping to fund her college career in becoming a social worker.

“With this money I will be able to help pay for college,” Faulkner said. “It will be extra money, and it will help me to fulfill my career. I want to be there for children and also for their parents.”

Faulkner is a graduate of Greenville High School and participated in activities such as Senior Beta Club, English Honor Society, the track team, the Tiara Club and the the youth group at Fort Deposit Church of Christ.

“Many of you know the financial burden when their child goes off to college, and we are pleased to be able to award this scholarship,” Scholarship Committee Co-Chairperson Jackie Thompson said. “In addition to the usual qualifications about what kind of grades you made, we were also looking for a student who was involved in their community and gave back to their community. We want to know that the person we invest in is going to turn around and invest back into their community.”

After living in Butler County for the past three years, Croley said Faulkner has proven to be a worthy scholarship recipient because of her academic excellence, her community service involvement and her potential to be a good leader.

“We definitely want to be able to award more than one scholarship in the future,” Croley said. “We felt like we had one super qualified candidate, and we just decided to award one. In the future we would love to be able to raise more money and give multiple scholarships to any deserving children in our county.”