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Pearl Berlin Scholarship

Guilford Green Foundation created a scholarship fund in honor of the late Pearl Berlin, a hero in the fight for marriage equality who always fought for change over the course of her lifetime.

Pearl Berlin and her partner of 52 years, Ellen “Lennie” Gerber, of High Point, were plaintiffs in the lawsuit that upended North Carolina’s Amendment One, which defined marriage as between a man and a women. They were the first winners of the Guilford Green Visionary Award.

The Pearl Berlin Scholarship honors Berlin and her lifetime of work as a fearless advocate for LGBTQ rights, marriage equality, and education. The scholarship is dedicated to celebrating and supporting continuing education for gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender, queer, and allied students who exhibit courage and leadership in their schools and communities. The scholarship(s) are awarded in the spring to graduating, college-bound seniors who have demonstrated leadership in the LGBTQ community.

The Pearl Berlin Scholarship is awarded in amounts up to $3,000. Multiple scholarships up to $1,000 OR a single scholarship up to $3,000 will be awarded each spring. The number of scholarships and the amount of individual scholarships will be determined by the scholarship committee and based on the quality and quantity of applicants.

To be eligible, applicants must meet the following: Must be a resident of Guilford, Forsyth, Rockingham, Randolph or Alamance County, North Carolina; Must be a graduating high school senior entering an accredited institution of higher education in the fall; Must be a self-identified lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer or straight ally; Must have demonstrated service, or a desire to serve, the LGBTQ community. All applications are due by February 14 at 11:59 p.m. EST each year.