Family, friends honor Nicole Chauvet through scholarships
Nicole Chauvet loved cheerleading more than anything. The Cecil Township youth started dancing at age 2 and started cheerleading in the second grade at Canon-McMillan Elementary. She was a “Lil Mac” cheerleader for seven years before joining the varsity squad for four years at Canon-McMillan High School.
“She was about being at the games,” remembers Nicole’s mom, Lisa, when I asked her what Nicole loved most about being a cheerleader. “They cheered in football, they cheered at wrestling, they cheered at basketball. They even went to some soccer games.”
Nicole loved cheering so much that she went on to cheer in college at Penn State Altoona, where she was majoring in education. Then, tragedy struck in 2009 when Nicole was a sophomore in college and died in an automobile accident. The idea for a scholarship seemed like a natural one to Nicole’s grandmother, Rose.
“It was my mom’s idea,” Lisa Chauvet recalls. “We were all so distraught, you know, but somehow she thought of that. And here we are. This is year 17 that we’ve been giving scholarships, and we’ve given $87,000 to date.”
That dedication to honoring Nicole’s memory and providing scholarships is why the Nicole Chauvet Scholarship Foundation is this month’s recipient of the Driven By Hope Award sponsored by Washington Auto Mall.
Nicole’s parents, Michael and Lisa, along with other family members, established the 501(c)(3) organization in 2009 to honor Nicole’s life and memory and to provide financial assistance to college-bound high school senior cheerleaders who share Nicole’s memorable, fun-loving spirit and zest for life.
“The board is amazing,” says Lisa. “We fund-raise every other year and they get donations, baskets donated, auction baskets. My board goes above and beyond.”
Scholarship applicants have to meet eligibility criteria, be a four-year cheerleader at Canon-McMillan High School and submit an essay. Application deadline this year is April 15.
“We have five seniors this year, and this is our biggest year and the most girls that we’ve ever had,” says Lisa. “So we just voted to give our biggest scholarship amounts, and we’re going to give up to $9,500.”
The scholarship is designed to help students with the financial burden of college tuition or to purchase books and help them to fulfill their dreams of going to college or any type of post-secondary education.
“It doesn’t have to be college; it can be a tech school,” said Lisa. “Our very first year, our two recipients were girls that she cheered with and the one went on to be hairstylist. She does my hair, my husband’s hair, my son’s hair, my two grandsons’ hair, and she was our first-year recipient.”
The foundation holds a fundraiser every other year and it will be held this year on Sept. 20 at Cecil Park.
“It’s going to be geared to the kids because now all of her friends have children,” Lisa said. “Her best friend since kindergarten has four children. So there’s going to be face painting, a balloon artist, the playground is there. We make it kind of a big cookout atmosphere.”
Recent fundraisers have welcomed more than 200 guests, and the group is expecting as large of a turnout this coming fall for food, fun and plenty of raffles, auctions and prizes.
“So we’re always looking for donations toward our baskets, gift cards, anything to just put in the gift baskets,” Lisa says. “It’s our way of honoring her. You take care of your children no matter what, and this is our way of still continuing to take care of her and honoring her in a different way.”
For more information on the scholarship, how to apply or how to donate or help with fundraising, please visit Nicolechauvetfoundation.org.