Local charity offers thousands in scholarships to children of local veterans
By James Kmosko
A local charity will provide a total of $25,000 in college scholarships for the children of local veterans.
L.O.V. Thrift Store, a 501c3 charity based at the intersection of NC-150 and NC-16 (Killian Crossroads), will award three $5000 scholarships and one $10,000 scholarship to high school seniors in eastern Catawba and Lincoln counties.
“We decided that we’re going to focus on the four high schools within a ten-mile radius of the store,” said Kevin Popko, co-founder and president of L.O.V. “So it’s Bandy’s in Catawba, Lincoln Charter in Denver, East Lincoln High School, and North Lincoln High School.”
One student from each school will receive a scholarship, with one receiving the “grand prize” scholarship of $10,000. Eligible students can apply for the scholarship through their schools.
“They go to their guidance counselor; [the counselors] know the rules,” Kevin said. “[The students] will write an essay. We have criteria that we’ve got to see. The student [has to be] a senior that’s going off to college, Mom or Dad has to be a veteran, honorably discharged. If so, they qualify.”
The deadline for scholarship applications varies depending on which of the four schools a student is attending.
“It’s mid April for all [four] schools,” Kevin said. “It’s in between the 15th and 17th is when they have to have all of the submissions.”
This is not the first time that L.O.V. ‘s board of directors has set aside funds to provide scholarships for local high schoolers.
“It’ll be our second annual [scholarship],” Kevin said. “It went so smoothly last year, the board said, ‘Let’s run it back. We have enough funding to do it, let’s make it happen.’”
In 2025, L.O.V. did not choose which students would be scholarship recipients.
“Last year we had each school give us who they chose to be their winner,” Kevin said. “So there were four people, one from each school, and the board blindly voted on which one was the grand prize winner.”
This year, Kevin says, the board wants to be “more involved” with the selection process.
“[We] asked each school to send us their top three [applicants],” Kevin said. “Now we’re going to have twelve essays to review based on what these schools send us. From there, our board members will vote blindly, not knowing who’s from what school, [who’s] male or female - we don’t know anything. We just read the essays and see their backgrounds and say, ‘Oh yeah, I like this one.’”
The scholarship, Kevin says, could significantly reduce the financial hardship of college for the students who receive it.
“It’s $25,000 that L.O.V. spends to help four very deserving students in their next chapter in life,” Kevin said. “It’s a well-oiled machine. We’re proud to do it, and hopefully it works out well enough that we’ll do it next year and have our third annual.”