Announcing the VLA Scholarship fundraiser in memory of CDR Alexander C. Varga, United States Navy

July 19, 2019 UPDATE:

Thanks to the participation of more than fifty donors, we were able to raise a total of $5265 in scholarship funds in memory of CDR Alexander C. Varga, United States Navy!

We will soon be taking down the link to contribute to this specific scholarship, however there are many ways for you to continue supporting scholarship fundraisers in the future.  These include making a donation to the Scholarship Fund on the Virginia Library Association website and purchasing tickets for the scholarship raffle at the upcoming VLA Annual Conference, which will be held this year at Hilton Norfolk The Main on October 23-25, 2019.  And don’t forget, one of the most fun ways to contribute to the scholarship effort is by creating a basket to bring to the conference for the raffle!

The funds from the CDR Alexander C. Varga Memorial Scholarship will be divided into two, $2500 scholarships and distributed during the 2020 and 2021 VLA scholarship application cycles.  For more information on the application process and eligibility requirements, please refer to the Virginia Library Association Scholarships website. The additional $265 raised beyond out $5000 goal will be used in our general scholarship fund.

Lisa Varga, her family, Matt, and I are all grateful and awed by the outpouring of support from the VLA community for this special fundraising event.  Many thanks to everyone who donated.  You have our sincerest gratitude.

Lisa & Matt

Matthew Todd, Dean of Learning & Technology Resources at Northern Virginia Community College; VLA Past President 2011 and
Lisa Lee Broughman, Director of the Lipscomb Library at Randolph College; VLA Past President 2013


 

Original message, July 2, 2019:

It is with great sadness that we report the passing of CDR Alexander C. Varga, husband of VLA Executive Director Lisa R. Varga, shortly before the holiday season in 2018.  Those of you who know Lisa know how tirelessly she works to ensure the Virginia Library Association remains one of the most vibrant and successful state library associations in the United States, for which Alex always provided his unwavering encouragement and support.

The Virginia Library Association has been providing scholarships to library school students in the Commonwealth of Virginia since 1991.  In this spirit, and with an effort to express appreciation for Lisa and her family, we are happy to announce the establishment of an additional VLA scholarship in memory of CDR Alexander C. Varga.  

Initially a grassroots effort to surprise Lisa with the funding for a single $2500 scholarship, we received an overwhelmingly positive response and are well on our way to fully funding a second $2500 scholarship to support students pursuing a Master’s degree in Library and Information Science at an ALA-accredited program!

While we were unable to reach out to everyone during our initial word-of-mouth campaign, we never forgot that there are many more members of VLA who may want to donate to this fundraising effort.  We would love to raise enough money to complete the second $2500 fundraising goal, and perhaps even a third!  

If you would like to participate in this fundraiser, please visit our online donation page or mail checks made out to the Virginia Library Association, with “Varga Scholarship” in the memo line to designate this as a gift separate from the general donations.  Your contributions are tax-deductible, and checks can be mailed to:

Virginia Library Association
PO Box 56312
Virginia Beach, VA 23456

Matthew Todd, Dean of Learning & Technology Resources at Northern Virginia Community College; VLA Past President 2011 and
Lisa Lee Broughman, Director of the Lipscomb Library at Randolph College; VLA Past President 2013