The Fulton County Fair Board of Directors met recently and considered options for funding the 2021 fair scholarship program. In a normal year, the fair would have had a decorated cookie jar contest and the jars filled with home baked cookies would have been auctioned off on the last day of the fair. With the cancellation of the 2020 county fair, this did not happen. Several suggestions were made by volunteers for this year’s auction and an event was tentatively planned for November. However, with the large spike of COVID-19 virus cases in the county, board members felt it would not be safe to have the event.
The board will be taking cash donations for the scholarship fund and have set a goal of $8,000. Several students who have been involved in the Fulton County Fair and donated many hours of community service to the fair, will be graduating in May 2021. The board hopes to have the funds to give those youth the usual scholarship amount of $1,000 per student.
Individuals and businesses can donate to the fair scholarship fund through the Paypal GoFundMe fund raising platform for credit card donations or they can mail a check to the Fulton County Fair Foundation, Post Office Box 910, Salem AR 72576. Donations can also be made with a credit card by calling the fair office.
Fair officials sent a text message to prospective donors and received some questions asking if it was a legitimate fund raiser since it was not a local cell phone number. The GoFundMe number is 334-581-9063. The Fulton County Fair Foundation set up the account since they are registered as a 501c3 entity.
The Fulton County fair has great support from the business community and area for the fair scholarship program. The scholarship program started in 2013 and $38,000 in scholarships have been awarded to graduating seniors who are involved in the Fulton County Fair.
For more information on the scholarship fund raising program, contact the Fulton County Fair office at 870-895-5565.
