2021 Passavant Memorial Homes Foundation Community Service Scholarship Recipient Announced!

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Passavant Memorial Homes Foundation (PMHF) is proud to announce the recipient of its 2021 Community Service Scholarship. This scholarship was created to honor the memory of Jamie Ellenberger, an individual served by Passavant Memorial Homes Family of Services (PMHFOS) and who was an active member in the community.  The principle of community is central to PMHFOS’s mission, including efforts to engage in community initiatives and to be involved in community improvements.

PMHF aimed to award this scholarship to a student in the region who brings that same understanding of the value of community service, and this was found in Ms. Sydney Komoroski of Our Lady of the Sacred Heart High School (OLSH) in Allegheny County. Her lengthy and impressive resume of community service began in 2014 when she hosted her birthday party where, instead of gifts, she asked guests to bring Easter baskets for the children of North Hills Community Outreach. In addition to hosting a party like that each year thereafter, Ms. Komoroski has volunteered for St. Alexis, Aquinas Academy, and the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation. She has also completed various service projects for the Little Sisters of the Poor, Satchels of Caring, Light of Life Missions, Yellow Ribbon Girls, and Vincentian Home. She is a member of LeadersNow International and the Girls Scouts of America, where she is working to earn her Gold Award. She has hosted a five-week long Peanut Butter and Jelly Food Drive for North Hills Community Outreach, and she has helped at her high school with Open Houses, Galas, Freshman Foundation Day, and Transfer Student Welcome Day. She has baked cookies for the troops, served meals at soup kitchens, and built a Free Little Library for North Hills Community Outreach in their outdoor vegetable garden. In addition to many other examples of community service activities, Ms. Komoroski has also helped rescue sea turtles, volunteered at her local library, and made seatbelt pillows for cancer patients with ports.

In addition to her community involvement, Ms. Komoroski has been involved in several extracurricular activities. She was a member of her high school bowling team, was in the OLSH concert choir, was an OLSH Ambassador, and was part of the OLSH theatre program where she participated in 17 productions. She is also a member of the OLSH Honor Roll.

Ms. Komoroski will be attending Walsh University, in North Canton, Ohio, in the fall, where she will be studying nursing.

This year, PMHF received 72 scholarship applications from students across 19 counties in Pennsylvania. Ms. Komoroski exemplifies the commitment of PMHF and the late Jamie Ellenberger to serving and improving the community.

Should you have any additional questions or need more information, please email PMHFoundation@passavant.org.