Veterans Organization to Fund Nursing Scholarships at Elms College

CHICOPEE — The College of Our Lady of the Elms School of Nursing received $2,000 to fund a nursing scholarship from the veterans honor society called La Societé des Quarante Hommes et Huit Chevaux (the Society of Forty Men and Eight Horses, or the Forty & Eight).

On Dec. 16, the society presented the Elms School of Nursing with a check to fund a nursing scholarship for five years. The scholarship, called the La Societé des 40 Hommes et 8 Chevaux Honor Society for Veterans Nursing Award, will be given to nursing students attending Elms College. This award will grant $400 per year to support a sophomore or junior student’s nursing education. Preference will be given to veterans, children of veterans, or active military.

“We are so very grateful to the Forty & Eight society for this generous scholarship,” said Kathleen Scoble, dean of the School of Nursing at Elms College. “The society’s commitment to the education of nurses is both inspiring and greatly appreciated. It is not uncommon for our student nurses to be challenged with funding their education. Thus, every scholarship is important and removes one more obstacle they may face.”

This Forty & Eight scholarship program began in 1955. With 2,131 students receiving more than $1.1 million in scholarships this past year, the Forty & Eight has granted in excess of $20 million and graduated more than 23,000 registered nurses since the inception of this program.

This is the second time the organization has selected Elms for this scholarship; the first scholarship was presented in 2009. “We thought it would be great if we did it again, and let’s see if we can increase the amount a little bit,” said James Hoar, who holds the title of cheminot/chef de gare passé in the Forty & Eight.