The Pickard Scholarship Fund

The Dr. Dan J. and Patricia S. Pickard Scholarship was established in 2004 to assist Black male graduates of Dallas County high schools. Dr. Dan was an optometrist who opened a clinic in 1987 near Fair Park in Dallas. He witnessed firsthand the lack of higher education in his client's lives, particularly the young men. Dr. Dan grew in his love and compassion for the members of this community and wanted to provide additional support to enable the younger generation to be able to continue their education at a higher level. Education is one of the utmost important key's to move individuals and communities out of poverty. Before his death from a rare, terminal neurodegenerative disease, the couple approached The Dallas Foundation to establish the scholarship fund. Dan lived long enough to help select the first recipient, who later graduated from Texas Tech University.

The Pickard Scholarship Fund is only one of 3 scholarships that solely support Blacks in the Dallas area. The long term goal is to be able to extend the scholarship to reach Dallas County to the Oklahoma boarder. To be able to continue this work, and expand to the much deserving young Black men, we need the support from donors.

Our Needs

Passing On The Dream

The Pickard Scholarship Fund supports black male high school seniors in Dallas County from families that do not have the resources necessary for their children to attend college. Since the Fund's inception in 2004, there have over 200 applicants and about 100 awards made totaling $100,000. This year's goal is to award 25 scholarships at $1,000 each.

Students with a cumulative GPA of 2.5 are eligible for the $1000 yearly grant, which they continue to receive each year if they maintain a 2.5 GPA in college. Of the students who have participated at least 15% have graduated of those that we have been able to track --a performance statistic wildly exceeding general graduation rates for similarly situated students.

The need is far greater than the resources available to the Fund. There are many more deserving applicants than funding available. The Pickard Scholarship Fund seeks your support, and guarantees your investment will improve the lives of those it assists.