Alfred Street Baptist Church Foundation

               This year, the ALFRED STREET BAPTIST CHURCH FOUNDATION is honored to again participate in Spring2ACTion!!

The Afred Street Baptist Church Foundation has been awarding college scholarships to high achieving, financially challenged high school students since 2007. Since that time, we have awarded over $3.16million in scholarships to over 800 students from the DMV. Annually over 600 students apply for our scholarships, and we typically award approximately 200 college scholarships totaling over $600,000 each year. Scholarships range from $1,000 up to #$30,000 per year.

 In 2022, the City of Alexandria commissioned a Community Remembrance Project to explore and inform the public of the city's complicity in the practice of lynching in the late 1890s. The City recognized these victims and memorialized them in a ceremony at City Hall. Beginning that year, the ASBC Foundation added a new category of scholarships to honor victims of lynching in Old Town. Their names were Joseph McCoy (age 18) and Benjamin Thomas (age 16).  The scholarships are an attempt to ensure their names and their stories are not forgotten.

The scholarship is the JOSEPH McCOY and BENJAMIN THOMAS LEGACY SCHOLARSHIP. 

In 2022, two local students received this scholarship.  A male student represents the actual victims of the lynchings, while a second female student represents the family left behind to mourn. That has been the pattern in each subsequent year.

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  NATHAN DESTA: A scholarship was awarded to NATHAN DESTA of Alexandria High School, who graduated with a 3.8 GPA, He is attending George Washington University in Washington DC where he is double majoring in Theater and Accounting.


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  MIRACLE GROSS: Miracle Gross was a recipient of a second scholarship to honor the families left behind following these tragedies.  She also attended Alexandria City High School, where she graduated with a 4.2 GPA. She is attending Hampton University in Hampton Virginia, where she is studying Journalism.

Last year, scholarships were awarded to CHRISTINA COMAR, and Xaria Ward, both of Alexandria City High School.

TO ENSURE THAT THE NAMES JOSEPH McCOY AND BENJAMIN THOMAS ARE NEVER FORGOTTEN, WE ENCOURAGE YOU TO DONATE TO THIS SCHOLARSHIP FUND TO SUPPORT ADDITIONAL STUDENTS FROM ALEXANDRIA CITY HIGH SCHOOL!!

We are asking the community to help us sendoff even more students in their names.  ALL funds collected during Spring2ACTion designated for our Foundation will be allocated to scholarships honoring the lynching victims.

These scholarship recipient's become LIVING MEMORIALS and represent our community's response to a community tragedy of a century ago.