The woman who changed the face of Bowling Green, one refugee family at a time, continues her legacy through the Martha Ann “Mom” Deputy Scholarship Fund. Humanitarian and philanthropist Marty Deputy established the fund to aid refugees seeking higher education degrees.

Marty founded the International Center in 1981 in Bowling Green, Kentucky to help refugees transition from war-torn homelands to the United States.

She became engrossed in an article reporting the genocide of Cambodian citizens. She decided to help. “It seemed like such a simple thing, a no-brainer,“ she remembers. Blucher Two weeks later she met two Cambodian brothers and a Laotian family and at the airport. Six months later over 30 Southeast Asian families had resettled in Bowling Green.

Marty worked tirelessly to provide housing, jobs, English classes, school placement and drivers training for the new families.

In 1993 she was named a Jefferson Award recipient by the American Institute for Public Service. The award, founded by Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis, recognizes the unsung public heroes in our country.

Marty’s legacy continues today. The International Center has sponsored over 10,000 refugees from over 30 countries. Her vision continues with each new refugee wave.

Submission is due by April 1st at 12pm CST. This is not a postmark deadline.

Scholarship Amount: $1,000

Scholarship Guidelines

• International Refugees and/or their descendants since 1978

• Graduating high school students living in Bowling Green, Warren County

• Minimum GPA of 2.0 on a 4.0 scale

• The applicant must plan to be a full time student enrolled at an accredited two or four year college, university or technical school

• Award is based upon financial need and merit