Driven by Heart Scholarships is a non-profit organization based in the Willamette Valley of Oregon.

We are so excited to announce the latest recipients of the Driven by Heart Scholarship! Also, many thanks to our generous sponsors. Please read more at: Driven By Heart Blog.

Hello, my name is Brigitte McBride. I started Driven by Heart Scholarships to honor, encourage and support the big-hearted youth in my community.  As a former big-hearted youth, I know how hard it is to feel understood, needed and quite simply, like I belong. There are many scholarships for high school students with good grades and big achievements in sports, and there are scholarships for young people with artistic talent. What about our young people who are talented and skilled in the areas of: compassion, caring, human rights, social activism and leadership? What about our young people that want nothing more than to make a positive difference in this world by helping other people? Don’t we also need to celebrate, mentor and validate these efforts? I think we definitely do, and by doing so we will help make the world a better place!

Our Mission: Driven by Heart Scholarships is committed to providing a piece of the scholarship pie to students practicing and demonstrating compassionate contribution within their community. 

We are currently awarding $1,000 annually! Requirements and application criteria include past or active involvement in a local project based in compassionate contribution, one that is designed and effective in helping a group of high-need individuals, animals or natural habitats:

• Project must be local so that student can see direct impact he/she has on community.
• Additional components of focus that will be considered during application process include positive leadership (what leadership skills has student learned during involvement of project?) and community enrollment (is student responsible for other peers or community members getting involved in project?).
• Must plan on attending or currently attending Linn Benton Community College, Chemeketa Community College or Lane Community College in the Willamette Valley, Oregon.
• Mentoring is available to interested applicants. Students working towards applying for our scholarship can apply for our mentoring program. The mentoring program is a weekly coaching call to help guide and encourage students during their project, with the intention of strengthening the components of local empowerment, positive leadership and community enrollment.

We are a 501(c)(3) which means any donations made to this organization are tax deductible!

Heather McBride of www.inclarity360.com made a donation of $275 to make this possible. We are also incorporated with the state of Oregon as a non-profit and officially registered with the Oregon Dept. of Justice!  So, now we can start the next steps of fundraising (I will keep you posted!) and outreach. For the latest updates, go to the Driven by Heart Blog.

Our fundraising efforts will also focus on raising funds for:

Administrative costs, website development, outreach material for high schools and colleges (brochure explaining the program and application process), but almost all of the money raised will go directly into the scholarships themselves.

Driven by Heart Scholarships is a family-powered organization, formed and operated by three generations of Big-Hearted people!

From Left to Right:

Gabe Stevens – Vice President, Grandson of Kathleen, Son of Brigitte, Nephew of Heather, Idea Maker, Social Media Influencer and Icon, Dreamer, Music Maker, and all-around Amazing person!

Kathleen Ricker – Secretary, Grandmother of Gabe, Mother of Brigitte and Heather, social and political activist, peace-lover!

Brigitte Lyn McBride – President and Mentor, Mother of Gabe, Sister of Heather, Daughter of Kathleen, Writer, Business Owner, Animal-lover, Big-Hearted Creative, Entrepreneur and Eternal Optimist!

Heather Ann McBride – Donor and Mentor, Mother of “The Three”, Sister of Brigitte, Aunt of Gabe, daughter of Kathleen, Successful Resume Writer at www.inclarity360.com*, Film-maker and business Owner, humanitarian and animal-lover!