Dr. Kevin L. Rhodes Scholarship Fund

RHODES FAMILY PROFILE: Parents: Mike and Debby. Children: Steve, Kevin and Kristi. We raised our family in the little town of Center, Mo. (Pop – 600) We both worked full-time, middle- income jobs from 1970 to 2009. All 3 kids graduated from Mark Twain High School: Steve in 1989, Kevin in 1991 and Kristi in 1999. Good grades but not eligible for any help to pay for college. They each went on to college, with both boys going to Northwest Mo. State (a public school), and Kristi at Hannibal LaGrange College (a private school). They paid for college working and getting student loans through our local bank. We helped out paying their interest due on loans. Kevin and Kristi went on to get their Masters degrees, which meant more student loans. It took several years for Steve and Kristi to get their bank loans paid, and Kevin was still paying for med school loans when he died in 2018. We inherited Kevin’s IRA in 2018 and had wanted to establish a scholarship fund in his name for years. We are taking advantage of the tax law, which allows us to make donations to a 501(c)(3) non-profit, out of our annual IRA Minimum Required Distribution, which amount is tax free. We can do this through Bold.org. and their non-profit – The Bold Foundation, Inc. We are starting with Ralls County students attending Hannibal LaGrange College, either nursing or religious programs. I plan to do some fundraisers and sell items on local Marketplace to raise money. If there are outside donations and more money to pay out, then the criteria will expand in future years.