DESCRIPTION:

The Mason Foundation Scholarship provides support for students from elementary school through high school participating in extracurricular activities that enhance their personal growth, academic performance, and overall development. This scholarship is intended to help cover costs associated with extracurricular activities, such as sports, arts, music, academic clubs, and other organized programs that contribute to a well-rounded education.

REQUIREMENTS:

• Scholarships are awarded to elementary, middle and high school students (grades K-12) from Delaware and Franklin Counties.
• Applicants must be actively involved in or demonstrate a strong commitment to at least one extracurricular activity. Eligible activities include, but are not limited to, sports teams, music programs, theatre, academic clubs, art classes, community service organizations, and other school sponsored or community-based programs. 

PLEASE NOTE: This scholarship is for extracurricular activities, it is NOT intended for college or university study.

Background:
The development of The Mason Foundation is deeply rooted in the Westerville Warcats High School hockey club team. In 1998, hockey was primarily known in Ohio because of The Chill. There were a few house teams and even fewer travel teams that played at Chiller Easton and at the Fairgrounds downtown. That was the year the Warcats program was founded. In the spring of 1999, the inaugural club team was formed to “test” the interest level of players in Central Ohio. This inaugural team included Bryce Jesse Mason as a player, even though he was a senior that year. BJ also played with or against most of the players at his level. His parents, Bryan and Cheryl Mason, were also very active in the hockey community—serving as board members, coaching, helping other young men, or just driving—a lot.

BJ just loved to play. As a Blue Jackets midget player when the Warcats were formed, BJ was well known for his hard work, character, and sportsmanship. Tragically, we lost BJ in a car accident on October 24, 1998, and in his memory, The Mason Award was established in association with the Warcats program.

In March of 1999, goalie Isaac Fuller was the first award recipient, and he later went on to become a Warcats coach. Every year since, it has been given to a varsity player who exemplifies the same tenacity and love for the game that BJ embodied. In March of 2013, the Mason family was deeply honored when the Warcats Board of Trustees decided to retire his jersey number 11 to continue the honor of his memory.

It is in this spirit that The Mason Foundation was founded. On BJ’s birthday, September 16, 2013, we were officially established as an individual organization. Later the next year, with the generous donation of a vehicle that Bryan was able to repair and sell for a profit, we had the seed money needed to establish The Mason Foundation as a non-profit organization on November 19, 2014.

It is our mission to financially assist and encourage youth development through athletics, extracurricular activities, and education. As we grow and develop as an organization, it is our hope that our Westerville Warcats hockey roots will continue to be an integral part of the legacy as we expand into other opportunities to keep BJ’s competitive spirit of teamwork, dedication, and sportsmanship alive in each generation.