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04.20.09 | Foundation Donates to Mariah's Challenge Scholarship Fund in Butte
With college education dollars harder and harder to find, Mariah’s Challenge Scholarship is rewarding graduating, college-bound Butte seniors in high school with scholarships for maintaining alcohol abstinence throughout high school. On October 28, 2007, Mariah Daye McCarthy was tragically killed by an underage driver who had been drinking. At his daughter's funeral, Leo McCarthy issued a challenge to all of Butte, especially its youth.
The challenge, which was originally directed towards Mariah's classmates and generation, simply states, "Let's strive to be the first generation of Butte kids not to drink. Let's be the first graduating class without an MIP (minor in possession). Let's prevent drinking and destructive decisions from taking any more of Butte's most valuable asset-its youth." Leo McCarthy lit the torch and others came forward to bring Mariah's challenge to life.
From this challenge a non-profit, grassroots organization was formed with a threefold purpose: 1) To educate teens about the dangers of drinking and to challenge them to be MIP free; 2) to help educate parents about the dangers and signs of teen alcohol abuse; 3) to foster a culture change in Montana towards alcohol abuse.
The non-profit organization provides scholarships to students who uphold the foundation's ideals and supports education, events, and dialogue in communities that provide healthy responsible lifestyles. Thus, as a reward to those seniors who have successfully accepted Mariah's Challenge, they will be eligible for one of 17 available scholarships. The value of these scholarships range from $1000 to $5000, totaling $30,000.
