Scholarship Recipient Pays It Forward

Matt Elliott is the youngest person to start a foundation fund.
Photo by Glen McClure

At age 26, Matt Elliott of Norfolk, Virginia is the youngest philanthropist at the Hampton Roads Community Foundation. Last month, he created the endowed Dean-Callahan Scholarship Fund in memory of two younger swimmers at his Norfolk alma mater Maury High School  -- Carlton Dean.and Joey Callahan.

It has only been three years since Matt graduated from Virginia Military Institute with a biology degree. During his four years of study there, he was helped by a Col. J. Addison Hagan Memorial Scholarship administered by the community foundation. Today he works for the Hampton Roads Sanitation District and is studying for a masters degree in civil and environmental engineering at Old Dominion University.

In June 2015 Matt presented the community foundation a  $26,000 check to start the permanent Dean-Callahan Scholarship Fund at the community foundation. The college scholarship, which will be awarded for the first time next spring, is for Norfolk Public School athletes with a preference for swimmers. Matt raised most of the money last summer with a one-night swim off, volleyball tournament, barbecue and auction at the Mallory Country Club. The new event drew hundreds of people of all ages.

Even though Carlton and Joey were several years younger, Matt knew them through sports -- primarily swimming. All three were on the Maury High swim team but not all at the same time. Matt went on to be captain of the VMI swim team and to coach several Hampton Roads youth swim teams.

After Carlton passed away in 2012 at age 19 and Joey in 2013 at age 21, Matt started thinking of a way to honor these outstanding high school swimmers. He decided a permanent scholarship for athletes would be the best tribute to Carlton and Joey..At swim meets Carlton Dean excelled at butterfly, breaststroke and freestyle. He was named Most Valuable Player on the Maury High swim team as well as on the Pembroke Meadows Marlin and Tri City Aquatic Club swim teams. As a swimmer, Joey Callahan was known for his freestyle sprints and often anchored winning relay teams. He also was an outstanding volleyball and soccer player at Maury who earned 12 varsity letters and was co-MVP for volleyball his senior year. 

"I knew how much both Joey and Carlton meant to the community and how big they were in athletics. And, I knew how much the foundation scholarship helped me, This was perfect," Matt says of the scholarship fund.

Matt is busy planning the Second Annual Dean-Callahan Swim-off and Volleyball Tournament on Friday, August 14. Click here to learn more about the amazing lives of Carlton and Joey and the fun event Matt is planning.

If you would like to donate to the Dean-Callahan Scholarship Fund at the Hampton Roads Community Foundation click here.
 
(The Hampton Roads Community Foundation is a regional community foundation started in 1950 as the first community foundation in Virginia. It is among nearly 750 community foundation around the country serving specific geographic regions. It is the largest grant and scholarship provider in southeastern Virginia and manages more than 400 charitable funds created by donors from all walks of life. Over the decades it has provided more than $210 million to improve life for residents living in the Hampton Roads region of Virginia, including the cities of Chesapeake, Franklin, Norfolk, Portsmouth, Smithfield, Suffolk and Virginia Beach. It also serves people in Isle of Wight and Southampton counties and the Eastern Shore of Virginia, including Accomack and Northampton counties. Learn more at hamptonroadscf.org. You can click here to locate a community foundation near you. ) 

Former Scholarship Recipient Honors Teammates in a Lasting Way That Will Help Others Forever

When two of Matthew Elliott's Maury High School fellow swim team members died far too young, he decided to find a way to honor them.  

In 2014 he started the Dean-Callahan Scholarship Fund to pay tribute to his friends Carlton

Carlton Dean was a great swimmer.

Dean and Joey Callahan of Norfolk, Virginia, who passed away in 2012 and 2013.

"Both were personable people and good leaders who made others better," says Matt, who works for the Hampton Roads Sanitation District and is studying engineering at Old Dominion University. Matt, 25, was a Hampton Roads Community Foundation scholarship recipient during his four years of undergraduate study at Virginia Military Institute. He was helped  for four years at VMI by a Col. J. Addison Hagan Memorial Scholarship. 

Joey Callahan excelled at volleyball
& swimming

Hagan's friends started the scholarship him in 1980 at the community foundation after he passed away. Matt's goal is to follow in the footsteps of Hagan's friends. His goal is to raise $25,000 to create a permanent scholarship fund at the community foundation in memory of Carlton and Joey. 

The scholarship would be for Norfolk Public School athletes going on to college. Matt has arranged for donations to go to The Maury Foundation with 20 percent of proceeds benefiting the nonprofit that helps improve life for Maury High students. The rest of donations would be earmarked for a new scholarship fund at the Hampton Roads Community Foundation. Once $25,000 is reached, funds would transfer to the community foundation to start the permanent scholarship.

A kickoff event for the new Dean-Callahan Scholarship Fund will be held Friday, August 15, at the Mallory Country Club in Norfolk starting at 4 p.m. It will involve volleyball matches,swimming competitions, dinner and an auction. Details are posted to deancallahan.com.

(The Hampton Roads Community Foundation is a regional community foundation started in 1950 as the first community foundation in Virginia. It is among nearly 750 community foundation around the country serving specific geographic regions. It is the largest grant and scholarship provider in southeastern Virginia and manages more than 400 charitable funds created by donors from all walks of life. Over the decades it has provided more than $195 million to improve life for residents living in the Hampton Roads region of Virginia, including the cities of Chesapeake, Franklin, Norfolk, Portsmouth, Smithfield, Suffolk and Virginia Beach. It also serves people in Isle of Wight and Southampton counties and the Eastern Shore of Virginia, including Accomack and Northampton counties. Learn more at hamptonroadscf.org. You can click here to locate a community foundation near you. )