The NBCC Foundation, an affiliate of the National Board for Certified Counselors, Inc. (NBCC), recently awarded a $5,000 2015 NBCC Foundation military scholarship to Duane K. L. France, of Fountain, Colorado. The military scholarship is awarded to service members, veterans and their spouses who are pursuing a counseling education and commit to serving fellow military personnel, veterans and families upon graduation.
The mission of the NBCC Foundation is to leverage the power of counseling by strategically focusing resources for positive change. The military scholarship was created in 2009 to increase access to counselors for military personnel, veterans and families suffering from a shortage of available mental health professionals. Thirty-five students from across the country applied for the five 2015 military scholarships.
As a military scholarship recipient, France will receive $5,000 to support his counseling education and recognize his commitment to the underserved. A graduate of Excelsior College in Albany, New York, France is currently a master’s student in the clinical mental health counseling program at Adams State University in Alamosa, Colorado. He is currently working as a residential facility program director and case manager with the Colorado Veterans Resource Coalition, a nonprofit organization that provides housing to homeless veterans who struggle with substance use. He is also affiliated with the Haven Behavioral Health Family Support Center, providing individual and group counseling services to veterans involved in the Colorado 4th Judicial District Veterans Treatment Court, a jail diversionary program for trauma-exposed veterans. Additionally, he volunteers with the Kevin and Jeffrey Graham Supportive Services Program of the Pikes Peak Suicide Prevention Partnership, assisting veterans struggling with suicide.
The NBCC Foundation has also awarded five $5,000 rural scholarships to increase the number of counselors serving rural areas. The Foundation plans to continue offering scholarships to increase the number of counselors in the areas where they are needed most and will open the next application period in September 2015. For more information or to make a gift in support of the Foundation’s mission, please visit NBCCF.
About the NBCC Foundation
The NBCC Foundation is the nonprofit affiliate of the National Board for Certified Counselors (NBCC), based in Greensboro, North Carolina. NBCC is the nation’s premier professional certification board devoted to credentialing counselors who meet standards for the general and specialty practices of professional counseling. Currently, there are more than 55,000 National Certified Counselors (NCCs) in the United States and more than 50 countries. The Foundation’s mission is to leverage the power of counseling by strategically focusing resources for positive change.
