We are the flagship lender of interest-free student loans for Lancaster County residents.
Our Mission
Our mission is to provide financial resources to Lancaster County residents in support of their post-secondary educational goals.
Lancaster Dollars for Higher Learning was formerly Citizens' Scholarship Foundation of Lancaster County and Dollars for Scholars of Lancaster County.
Investing in Lancaster County’s future.
LDHL Board
Richard Frerichs
Ann Bryson
Linda Schroeder
Kris Marshall
Peg Wolpert
Cindy Ciuffo
Kay Brubaker
Edward Cardwell IV
Patrick Carney
Bob Freund
Robin Gorini
Jim Lee
Klaire Marino
Jenna Reath
Chris Straub, Esq.
LDHL Staff
Contact
Amy Heth
Amy has supported LDHL for over 30 years and is happy to be on staff since 2016. She graduated from Manheim Township High School and Penn State University with a degree in business management. She has a background in retail management, accounts payable, payroll, inventory, and public education.
Amy is a volunteer with Lancaster Farmland Trust. She enjoys performing with Bumbada Women Drummers and Ukulele Uprising. She and her husband, Thom, live in Lancaster, and they have two adult daughters.
Contact
Ashley Hemmelstein-Keary
Ashley was a manager of her family's restaurant in Little Egg Harbor, NJ, for over 10 years before moving to Lancaster in 2015. She lives in Willow Street with her husband and their two children. In her free time, she enjoys cooking, baking, and traveling with her family. Ashley is very excited to be a part of LDHL and has been since 2017.
A non-profit since 1961.
Loan recipients Yonnie and Bob Kauffman with their mother in 1968.
Our History
In 1961, a group of enterprising and civic-minded Lancastrians decided they wanted to help motivated and qualified local students who couldn’t afford college realize their dreams of earning a degree. They recognized the importance of post-secondary education and the impact it could have on Lancaster County.
Rather than offer grants or scholarships, however, this group offered interest-free loans with favorable repayment terms. Why not a gift program? The group understood the character-building difference between a hand-out and a hand-up. Group members were counting on Lancaster County’s strong work ethic to propel students to repay their loans and go on to pursue meaningful and productive lives. They were right.
They recognized the importance of post-secondary education and the impact it could have on Lancaster County.
Over sixty-five years later, that local interest-free loan program, which was previously known as Dollars for Scholars of Lancaster County and Citizens' Scholarship Foundation of Lancaster County, continues to endure and thrive. In that span of time, the organization now known as Lancaster Dollars for Higher Learning has provided more than 15,000 loans for local students to attend colleges and universities, technical and trade schools. The basic tenets are still the same — need-based, interest-free loans for up to four years of full-time, accredited education beyond high school. And the repayment terms are generous and affordable.
Back in 1961, those forward-thinking Lancastrians knew something important and built something to last. Today, Lancaster Dollars for Higher Learning continues to carry their mission. Like the trailblazers before us, we understand that education is the launching pad for a better life, more economic security and higher civic engagement. Our goal is to build dreams, interest-free.