The five winners of the first annual Monk’s Home Improvements Service Scholarship were each awarded their $2,000 scholarship at the Monk’s Home Improvements headquarters in Morristown, NJ on May 20th.
Cristine Jones, Warren native and 2014 graduate of Watchung Hills Regional High School, was one of the scholarship winners. She is a weekly volunteer at the Somerset Hills YMCA tutoring center where she helps younger children with their schoolwork. She has also given her time and positive energy to the Martin Luther King Youth Center and the Chelsea Nursing Home.
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Cristine attended the awards ceremony with her parents. Cristine explained, “I started volunteering when I was 13 at nursing homes. In high school I was encouraged to [help at] the Y tutoring center. I was nervous…but the first time I went I realized how much I helped students.” She added, “They teach me as much as I teach them, which I think is a big part of volunteering.”
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“People don’t choose to not give back, they fail to choose to give back”, said Ty Monk, founder of Monk’s Home Improvements. “In the coming years you will need to make an active decision to give back, instead of becoming someone who used to give back. I hope that you will continue making the choice to serve, and to continue to lead and inspire others with your actions.”
The other four local winners reside in Madison, Basking Ridge and Chester, NJ. Their collective community service efforts include volunteer firefighting, working with TOPSoccer, Habitat for Humanity and S.C.E.E.P., among other service efforts. These young winners have shown a long-term commitment to the organizations that they’ve served and are dedicated to improving their communities.
Even though this was the first year of the scholarship, it was highly competitive. Applications were received from students across 16 different towns, attending 22 different high schools and universities.
To read more about the winners and their service endeavors, visit MonksHomeImprovements.com/scholarship
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Monk’s Home Improvements is a family-owned home improvements company based at 1095 Mount Kemble Ave in Morristown, NJ. Monk’s has been in business since 2007 providing home improvement services including painting, carpentry, tiling, floor refinishing and kitchen & bath remodeling. Monk’s will be opening a new Kitchen and Bath Design Studio in their Morristown location. Customers will be able to design and shop for a remodeling project all in one place.
