Southwestern Michigan College Foundation accepted a $2,500 donation from the Inspiration Scholarship Foundation during a special fundraising event at the college Oct. 27.

The money will be used to endow the Brenda Mast Memorial Scholarship.

Sarah Mathews, president of the Inspiration Scholarship Foundation, presented the donation during “An Evening of Mayhem” event. The money will be matched by the SMC Foundation, “thereby doubling the number of students the scholarship will be able to help,” said Mathews.

The Brenda Mast Memorial Scholarship was established in 2008 by the Inspiration Scholarship Foundation to honor former North Wayne Mennonite Church Sunday school teacher, Brenda Mast. Mast taught Sunday school at North Wayne for many years until she lost her long battle with cancer in 1995.

Despite battling cancer and experiencing long stays in the hospital for treatment, Mast stayed in contact with her students by writing letters to them. She encouraged them to do their best in school and shared with them her faith through her letters as well. She was an inspiration to many of her students.

“The Inspiration Scholarship Foundation decided to carry on her inspiration by dedicating a scholarship in her honor that would be awarded each spring to a graduating high school student who demonstrated the same principles that Brenda inspired her students to have in their life — academic success, community involvement and church involvement,” Mathews said.

Earlier this year, the Inspiration Scholarship Foundation board of directors decided that due to fact that many of scholarship recipients were deciding to attend SMC that endowing the Mast scholarship with the SMC Foundation would allow supporters of the scholarship to help more.