community giving

A new scholarship drive connected to New York Atatürk School is seeking to turn community giving into up to $15,000 in educational support for alumni moving toward college and university study. The campaign, announced during the school’s 2026–2027 academic-year opening program, is being presented as a partnership involving the Turkish Women’s League of America, also known as TWLA or ATKB, and Turkish Philanthropy Funds, or TPF.

The central figure is a $7,500 community fundraising goal. According to ABDPost.com, organizers are asking supporters in the Turkish-American community to help raise that amount. If the target is reached, TPF is expected to provide an equal $7,500 matching contribution, bringing the potential scholarship pool to $15,000. The announced total is therefore a fundraising objective tied to a match, rather than a report that $15,000 has already been awarded or distributed.

The initiative is identified as the TWLA–TPF Changemaker Scholarship and is intended to support New York Atatürk School graduates as they prepare for or continue higher education in the United States. Berna Gürdal, president of the Turkish Women’s League of America, announced the effort at the school opening and appealed to parents and the broader Turkish-American community to support it. The campaign’s public message is that students’ educational connection to the school should continue beyond their years in Turkish-language and cultural classes.

A matching goal announced at the school opening

Reporting on the opening program places the scholarship announcement in the setting of the school’s new academic year, with students, families, teachers and alumni gathering as the 2026–2027 term began. A separate report by Haber Ege dates the opening program to September 19, 2026, and likewise identifies the scholarship plan as a joint TWLA–TPF effort for alumni preparing for university. The date, the school, the named organizations, the $7,500 figure and the $15,000 potential total provide a close identity match with the original ABDPost report.

The matching structure gives the campaign a straightforward public benchmark. Supporters are being asked to help achieve the initial $7,500 target, with TPF’s stated matching support intended to double the resources available. For donors, that means the campaign is not simply a request for general contributions: its stated design connects a defined community goal to an additional philanthropic commitment. For alumni and families, however, the practical value of the initiative will depend on whether the fundraising threshold is met and how the eventual money is assigned among eligible students.

Haber Ege described the scholarship discussion as one of the notable parts of the September 19 opening program and characterized the $15,000 as a planned total dependent on the matching arrangement. Its account also described an initial $7,500 contribution in connection with the effort. That wording differs slightly from ABDPost’s emphasis on raising $7,500 from the community before TPF provides a match, but both reports identify the same proposed $15,000 total, the same TWLA–TPF partnership and the same New York Atatürk School alumni focus. Neither report establishes that the complete fund had been distributed as of publication.

The Changemaker framework adds service and leadership criteria

TPF’s official Changemaker Scholarship Fund page provides important context for the initiative. The fund describes its purpose as supporting students of Turkish heritage whose records show meaningful community service, leadership and civic engagement. Its published information specifically lists Atatürk School graduates among the scholarship’s special categories, directly connecting the organization’s broader Changemaker program to the alumni group identified in the New York fundraising announcement.

TPF says Changemaker applicants must be of Turkish origin, have received partial funding from an accepted U.S. academic institution and demonstrate significant community service. The organization also lists a minimum 3.5 GPA, financial need, and at least three reference letters, including one related to community service, among its selection criteria. Those published standards explain why the scholarship’s stated emphasis extends beyond tuition assistance alone: the Changemaker model evaluates academic preparation alongside sustained service and leadership activity.

The fund is open across academic disciplines for students pursuing qualifying undergraduate or postgraduate education in the United States, according to TPF. Its current published guidance says awards may be worth up to $15,000 for one year and may be applied toward tuition or living expenses. TPF also states that applicants must apply online and that the scholarship recipient’s institution must provide supplementary support or an on-campus employment opportunity. These are TPF’s general Changemaker Fund rules; the school-opening reports did not state whether every detail will apply unchanged to a dedicated TWLA-supported award or how many New York Atatürk School alumni could ultimately receive assistance.

A school-to-university connection for a long-running institution

New York Atatürk School has been a longstanding part of the Turkish-American community’s educational life. ABDPost described the school as having a 55-year history of providing Turkish language, history and culture education to children growing up in the United States. Turkish Women’s League of America’s own organizational information says it has sponsored the school since 1971, and that the school serves kindergarten and elementary-level students in New York as well as online. The scholarship proposal seeks to extend that relationship into alumni’s higher-education years.

That continuing connection is central to the campaign’s public rationale. A weekend or supplementary school can help students sustain Turkish language skills and cultural ties while they grow up in the United States. The newly announced scholarship effort is intended to add a practical next-stage resource for graduates facing university costs and new responsibilities. Rather than presenting graduation as the end of the school’s relationship with students, the initiative frames alumni support as an extension of the community investment made during their earlier education.

The scholarship’s service-and-leadership focus also fits the Changemaker Fund’s broader stated mission. TPF says the fund is designed to help students continue their education while expanding their capacity to make a positive impact in society. In the New York Atatürk School campaign, that mission is being directed toward a particular alumni community. The result is a model that links family, school, volunteerism and higher education, while leaving room for the partners to clarify the eventual structure of any school-specific awards.

What is known, and what supporters still need to watch

Several points are confirmed across the available reporting and official scholarship information. TWLA/ATKB and TPF are named as partners; the campaign is associated with the 2026–2027 opening of New York Atatürk School; organizers have identified $7,500 as the community fundraising benchmark; and the prospective total fund is $15,000 if matching support is activated as described. TPF’s official Changemaker page also confirms that Atatürk School graduates are recognized as a special category within its scholarship program and that community service is a significant component of its published evaluation model.

Important details remain unconfirmed in the reports reviewed for this article. The school-opening coverage does not identify the number of individual awards, the value of each award, a school-specific application timetable, a dedicated recipient-selection process, or a public update showing that the $7,500 community target has been reached. TPF’s general application page publishes program-wide eligibility and application information, but it does not by itself confirm the fundraising status or the final operating details of the TWLA-linked campaign announced in New York.

For now, the announcement represents a forward-looking scholarship initiative rather than a completed award cycle. Its significance lies in the match: a $7,500 community goal could unlock an equivalent amount of philanthropic support and create a $15,000 pool for eligible alumni. The next meaningful measures of progress will be a public fundraising update, clear guidance for prospective applicants and confirmation of how the fund will be distributed. Until then, supporters can view the campaign as an effort to carry New York Atatürk School’s educational mission beyond the classroom and into its graduates’ university years.