BOWLING GREEN, Ky. — The College Heights Foundation is now 100 years old. Several alumni and students were invited to celebrate the milestone at the Cliff Todd Center on Monday.

What You Need To Know

  • The College Heights Foundation is a nonprofit that helps with WKU students’ financial aid by giving out scholarships

  • The foundation started with a net worth of $100 and is now worth $250 million

  • Many recipients say the foundation saved them from financial crisis

The foundation celebrated with a feast of desserts, drinks and an open house of Cliff Todd Center, where many members work.

“It’s not very often in an organization’s history that you can celebrate a centennial,” College Heights President Donald Smith said.

College Heights was founded on July 17, 1923, Smith said. “We’ve had a great 100 years of success and look forward to the next 100 years.”

One WKU student, Bria Garvin, said that the foundation saved her and many others from a financial crisis.

“It’s nice to just be able to have that weight lifted off of you as a student,” Garvin said.

And a former board member was more than happy to see the success still flourishing, like it was when he was a part of the foundation.

“It’s a great feeling,” former board member Michael Coleman said. “To be able to reach back and help others, in the same you’ve been helped.”

Funny enough, some alumni used the foundation for different reasons rather than academic reasons when they were students.

“We wanted to get married,” alumnus Bob Bristol said. “I didn’t have any money, and she didn’t have any money. So I went and borrowed $75. We’ve had a long journey since then, we’ve been married for 61 years. That was a good start.”

Whether the foundation helps with romance or academia of the reasoning, it is proud to serve 100 years of helping WKU students.

“There’s no way of telling of how many people students have been helped by the foundation,” alumna Marilyn Bristol said. “There’s probably no way to describe of what it has meant to so many people.”