Two Brookhaven students were honored Tuesday as “Champions forChildren” and received scholarships for their mentoringactivities.

Catherine Carty, of Brookhaven High School, and Jerrod Rayborn,of Brookhaven Academy, were awarded scholarships from the Championsfor Children Mentoring Scholarship Fund. Carty and Rayborn received$2,000 and $5,000 respectively for their mentoring efforts.

The Brookhaven recipients received their scholarships Tuesday atthe Sixth Annual Champions for Children Scholarship Fund at theHilton Hotel in Jackson.

Carty and Rayborn joined 69 other Mississippi seniors whoreceived $150,000 in total scholarship awards. The Champions forChildren Mentoring Scholarship program is currently the largestprivately-funded scholarship in Mississippi and has awarded a totalof $1 million dollars over the past six years.

Carty and Rayborn both volunteered at least 100 hours duringtheir senior years, wrote essays regarding their experience andsubmitted letters of recommendation.

Lincoln County teens preparing for their senior year of highschool are encouraged to begin mentoring this summer. For moreinformation on the scholarship program, contact Big Brothers BigSisters of Mississippi’s central office in Jackson at (601)961-9286, or visit champions for children on-line atwww.msmentoring.com. Companies interested in contributing to thescholarship fund should contact Sandra Shelson at (601)362-0740.