The Tuskegee Airmen Scholarship Foundation (TASF) and the National Black Nurses Association (NBNA) announced the establishment of the Della H. Raney Nursing Scholarship, named after the first chief nurse assigned to the Tuskegee Army Air Field.
The $2,000 scholarship is targeted to nursing students enrolled in at least the sophomore year at an accredited BSN degree program. Each applicant must submit an application, official transcript, two page statement about their nursing career/journey, resume, and two letters of references. The annual scholarship deadline is April 15.
“We are delighted to partner with the National Black Nurses Association to provide scholarships to worthy nursing students in pursuit of their nursing career. This scholarship acknowledges the role that women played in the success of the Tuskegee Airmen Experience”, said Jerry Hodges, President of TASF and a Documented Original Tuskegee Airmen.
“NBNA is excited to expand its collaborative partnership with the Tuskegee Airmen Scholarship Foundation. We share the same goal to help our Nation prepare professional, licensed nurses. NBNA offers scholarships to student nurses at all levels. The scholarships are based on merit and financial need”, stated Dr. Deidre Walton, President of the National Black Nurses Association. “It is a special privilege to join with TASF in honoring a military nurse. NBNA has military nurse members who contribute not only service to our country but provide valuable leadership to our organization”.
About Della H. Raney
Della Raney was born in Suffolk, Virginia on January 10, 1912. She was the first African American nurse commissioned as a Lieutenant in the United States Army Nurse Corps (ANC) during World War II. To join the Army Nursing Corps and receive an officer’s commission, a woman had to be a registered professional nurse and a member of the American Red Cross. She was a graduate of the Lincoln Hospital School of Nursing in Durham, North Carolina – the first nursing program established for African American nursing students in the United States.
Prior to joining the military, Raney was an operation room supervisor at the Lincoln Hospital in Durham, North Carolina. Raney’s first assignment was at Fort Bragg, North Carolina. She was promoted to chief nurse at Fort Bragg in 1942. Raney then transferred to Tuskegee Army Air Field and became the first chief nurse at Tuskegee. She later became chief nurse at Fort Huachuca, Arizona. Raney was promoted to captain in 1945 and to major in 1946. She retired in 1978.
About the National Black Nurses Association (NBNA)
The National Black Nurses Association (NBNA) was organized in 1971 under the leadership of Dr. Lauranne Sams, former Dean and Professor of Nursing, School of Nursing, Tuskegee University, Tuskegee, Alabama. NBNA is a non-profit organization incorporated on September 2, 1972 in the state of Ohio. NBNA represents 150,000 African American registered nurses, licensed vocational/practical nurses, nursing students and retired nurses from the USA, Eastern Caribbean and Africa, with 82 chartered chapters, in 40 states. For more information about NBNA, please visit www.nbna.org.
About TASF
TASF is a non-profit 501(c)(3) organization. The Board of Directors is comprised of Documented Original Tuskegee Airmen (DOTAs) and corporate and community leaders committed to providing leadership by ensuring that funds are available to assist financially disadvantaged and deserving students in the pursuit of their education. For more information, please visit www.taisf.org.
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