About $23,000 in scholarships was handed out at the Renton Community Foundation’s first scholarship awards ceremony at the Liberty Park Building earlier this month.

Bob McBeth, scholarship committee chair, presented scholarships from three funds. All the award recipients had to have either graduated from a Renton High school or lived in the area.

A total of $15,000 was awarded from the Helen Dyrdal Fund. The foundation received a $466,000 bequest last year from Dyrdal’s estate to create a scholarship fund. The committee decided to offer three awards each year. The first went to a college student with sophomore class standing or above. The second went to a graduate student pursuing a career in a “helping profession.” The third would go to one or more students pursuing a degree  or certification from a community college or trade school.

Anita Soulyvongtham, Sorakdet Ieng, Charisse Timbol, Carlito Umali all received the Helen Dyrdal Scholarship. The first two winners received $2,500 and the latter two received $5,000. Bruce Jones received the Carl and Betty Rochet Scholarship worth $2,500.

Bryan Banks, Brandon Banks, Karisa Bunker, Renisha Johnson, Denzel McIntyre, and Brittany Miller all received the Jeremy Gidlund Scholarship which ranged from $500 to $1,500.

This is one of the foundation’s many charitable causes. The organization manages more than $6 million and 40 charitable funds on behalf of the community. They also support the homeless, local food banks, arts programs, seniors, the disabled, at-risk kids, families and pets.