At WSF Annual Awards Ceremony, the 2014 Merit Award Recipients Benjamin Griswold and Hannah Breuer are congratulated by WSF Scholarship Chair Leslie Petzing (center). Photo by George Roberts

The Wellesley Scholarship Foundation (WSF) held its annual awards ceremony on June 9th at Great Hall within Wellesley Town Hall, presenting $248,000 in need-based college scholarships to 78 students, and $24,000 in endowed merit awards to 8 students.

Scholarship aid awards went to 30 new Wellesley High School graduates, whose accomplishments included excellence in academics, sports and the arts, and whose community service efforts outside of school also impressed. The students are heading to a variety of schools, including Boston University, Bridgewater State College, Georgia Institute of Technology and Wellesley College. The rest of the aid awards went to previous scholarship earners who remain in college.

WSF awarded two 2014 merit scholarships, which are funded by longstanding private endowments.

The 2014 Margaret E. Daniels Award recipient was Holly Breuer, a recent graduate of the Winsor School. She served as president of student government, editor in chief of the school newspaper and plays field hockey and lacrosse. Outside the classroom, Breuer was part of the U.S. Naval Sea Cadet Corps., as a recruit Petty Officer Chief. She’s headed to Harvard in the fall, as is her fellow new merit scholarship winner, Benjamin Griswold.

Griswold, who earned the 2014 Donald P. Babson Merit Award, maintained a nearly 5.0 grade point average while taking numerous AP and honors classes at Wellesley High. Has has been involved in Student Congress, cross country and track, the National Honor Society and Spanish National Honor Society, and more. During the summers, Griswold interned at the offices of politicians Alice Peisch and Steve Grossman.

WSF administers and/or assists with scholarships awarded by nine other civic organizations and two local colleges. Together these outside groups provided an additional $145,050 in financial aid awards. These organizations include the Kiwanis Club, The Newcomers’ Club of Wellesley, Wellesley Cooperative Clothing Exchange, the Wellesley Hills Junior Women’s Club, the Wellesley Hills Woman’s Club, Wellesley Historical Society, Wellesley Patrolmen’s Association, Wellesley War Memorial, Wellesley Square Merchants’ Association, as well as Babson College and Wesleyan University. This year for the first time, the Wellesley Cancer Prevention Project joined to fund scholarships.

For more information about donating or applying for a scholarship, go to www.wellesleyscholarshipfoundation.org.