Scholarships That Say “You Belong”

“You can think sometimes that you have to suffocate a part of your identity to try to get yourself into a door,” one of this year’s scholarship recipients told us. “Winning this has proven to me that that is not the case.” This fall, thirteen LGBTQIA+ students and allies from across Chicagoland are starting or continuing college with a $5,000 scholarship from the Out With Purpose Scholarship Fund. This year, we granted scholarships to 8 new scholars and 5 returning scholars. Over the past decade, the fund has awarded more than $300,000 to local students. Every scholarship is paid directly to the recipient’s college, trade school or continuing-education program. We began in 1989 as the Oak Park Area Lesbian and Gay Association (OPALGA). Our name has changed, but our commitment to uplifting the LGBTQIA+ community hasn’t. We’re entirely volunteer-run, and the fund depends on members, local sponsors and neighbors like you. Our largest fundraiser, the annual Scholarship Gala, filled t