educator scholarship

Golden Apple Educator Awards – 2025

We are now accepting entries for this year’s Golden Apple Educator Award!

Entrants must be a current Freedom FCU or Atlantic Financial FCU Member* and an employee at a Harford County, Baltimore County, Baltimore City, or Carroll County school (public or private, PreK-12th).

now FEATURING

TWO $2,000 Awards  –  FOUR $1,000 Awards  –  FOUR $500 Awards

 

To enter, submit an entry form and essay. The essay must describe how you would use the funds and why you should be selected for an award! Scoring favors proposals demonstrating the greatest impact on local schools, classes, students, and/or the community at large.

Freedom Federal Credit Union has once again increased the number of grant awards available, and is pleased to offer TEN Annual Educator Awards ranging from $500 up to $2,000.  Eligible applicants are Education Employees who may be a deserving teacher, school administrator or school support employee from a Harford County, Baltimore County, Baltimore City, or Carroll County school.

Scoring favors submissions with the greatest impact and creativity with a strong preference for ideas/initiatives that are sustainable over multiple years.

.TO ENTER: Complete the entry form and submit an essay that demonstrates the significance of your idea or initiative and how it will be beneficial. Your essay may address any or all of the following questions:

  1. What is your creative idea or initiative to benefit your students, your class, or your school? If you win this award, how will you make it happen using the funds from this award?
  2. How will your idea or initiative support or improve the learning experience of your students or benefit your classroom or school overall?
  3. Will your idea or initiative benefit the overall community? If yes, how so?

Please submit your Golden Apple – 2025 Educator Award Entry Form and essay to enter@freedomfcu.org by May 31, 2025.

All entries will be reviewed by a panel of judges made up of Freedom employees, volunteers and community partners.

  • Entry deadline is May 31, 2025 
  • Submit by email to enter@freedomfcu.org
  • We will contact award recipients by June 20, 2025

LEARN ABOUT THE EXCLUSIVE BENEFITS OFFERED TO OUR EDUCATORS- EXPLORE THE REST OF THE GOLDEN APPLE PROGRAM!

*New members are also welcome to apply! Educators that are members of Atlantic Financial FCU are now apart of our Freedom FCU family and are also welcome to apply.

Read About Past Golden Apple Awardees:

2024 Recipients
2023 Recipients
2022 Recipients
2021 Recipients
2020 Recipients
2019 Recipients

Golden Apple-Plus Educator Award

Golden Apple-Plus Educator Award Winners

2017 Golden Apple-Plus Education Award Winners
Freedom’s 2017 Golden Apple-Plus annual Educator Award winners! Pictured are (L to R): Sandra Waltemire, special education teacher at North Harford Middle, runner-up award; Patrice Ricciardi, Freedom Business development Specialist; Paula Pawlowicz, fifth grade teacher at Churchville Elementary, the winner!; Mike MacPherson, Freedom President and CEO; Kim Mayforth, early intervention special educator at John Archer School, runner-up award; and Randy Geyer, Principal, Bel Air High School.

We’re happy to announce that Deborah Pawlowicz has won our 2017 Golden Apple-Plus Annual Educator Award competition. Ms. Pawlowicz wins the top $1,000 prize for her idea to use technology to improve the reading skills of her students.

We support the Harford County education community. Therefore, this annual Golden Apple-Plus Annual Educator Award is for a Freedom member who is also a deserving teacher, school administrator or school support employee. Ms. Pawlowicz is a fifth grade English Language Arts teacher at Churchville Elementary. She states in her entry that she wants her students to read with a purpose, and to be able to really understand and analyze text. This is often a challenge when reading is done on a computer. Therefore, Ms. Pawlowicz recommends buying a website subscription to enable this interaction. Features include a way for both the teacher and students to choose their reading level. This way, students who are struggling readers can read and interact with the same article that gifted readers use. This award allows Ms. Pawlowicz to purchase the needed subscriptions.

Runner-Up Winners

There are two Runner-Up awards with each recipient earning a $250 award. The Golden Apple-Plus Education Award runner-up winners are:

Kim Mayforth, an Early Intervention Special Educator in the Infants and Toddlers Program at John Archer School. Ms Mayforth works with developmentally challenged children from birth to age 3. She proposes the purchase of adaptive toys that promote the learning of cause and effect and intentionality. The toys also foster communication, motor development and social-emotional development.

Sandra Waltemire teaches children with significant intellectual disabilities at North Harford Middle School. Her idea is to purchase supplies and ingredients to help her students apply skills in a real-life-situation — completing a cooking recipe. In the process, functional math skills, such as budgeting, price comparison and measurement are taught. In addition, students learn to independently prepare food at home in the future.

All Golden Apple-Plus Award applicants are asked to submit an essay demonstrating how their idea serves their students, class, school and the Harford County community. A panel of Freedom employees and board members judge each year’s entries.

Golden Apple Plus Educator Award

HCEA and HCESC Members Can Apply for $1k Award

Freedom Federal Credit Union gives an Annual Golden Apple Plus Educator Award of $1,000 to a Freedom member.  The member must be a deserving teacher, school administrator or school support employee. Scoring favors the plan with the greatest impact on local schools, classes, students, and/or the community at large. 1st and 2nd Runner-up awards are given for $250.00 each.

Eligibility

  1. Must be a Freedom Federal Credit Union Member
  2. Must be enrolled in Freedom’s Golden Apple Plus Program
  3. Must be a member of HCEA or HCESC

Entry

To enter, complete the entry form below and submit an essay that explains why you, as a teacher or education employee, deserve this award. Your essay may address any or all of the following questions:

  1. What is your creative idea to benefit your students, your class or your school that this money would help you complete?
  2. Will you take a continuing education class or classes to improve your own education and expertise (be specific) and how will that improve learning by your students?
  3. Will you purchase supplies for your school or classroom and how will it help improve learning by your students? If so, explain how.
  4. Will your idea, training, or purchases affect the Harford County Community? If yes, how so?

Please submit your Golden Apple Plus Educator Award Entry Form and essay to marketing@freedomfcu.org by May 1. All entries will be reviewed by a panel of Freedom employees, volunteers and community partners.

Entry deadline: May 1, 2017     Submit by email to: marketing@freedomfcu.org

A winner will be announced by June 15, 2017.