Meltons Continue Daughter’s Legacy Of Kindness Through Scholarship

For the fourth consecutive year, the parents of the late Kimberly Melton made a financial donation to a scholarship to continue their daughter’s legacy at Richmond Community College.

A 2003 graduate of Chesterfield High School, Kimberly was enrolled in the Nursing Assistant program at RCC when an automobile accident claimed her life in February 2006. It was the second time John and Cherryl Melton of Cheraw had suffered the loss of a child. The couple’s first born died from an illness.

“It was devastating,” John Melton said of the deaths. “We were a very close-knit family.”

Following Kimberly’s death, the Meltons decided to start the Kimberly C. Melton Memorial Scholarship in her honor at RCC.

“We started the scholarship to give other people who have the same dreams as our daughter a chance to fulfill their dreams through her,” John Melton said. “Kimberly always enjoyed helping people, and this is a way she’ll be remembered for doing the thing that she lived for.”

The first Kimberly C. Melton scholarship was presented in 2007, and by 2010 had grown to fund two students. Each recipient of the award is hand-selected by a committee consisting of RCC nursing staff, and each recipient learns of Kimberly’s story and meets with the Meltons.

“Kimberly was such an amazing student,” said RCC nursing instructor Sheila Adams, who was expecting Kimberly to show for class on the day of Kimberly’s fatal accident.

“She was very punctual and never missed a class or a clinical,” Adams said. “She was such a great person who always went above and beyond anything that was asked of her.”

Adams said because of those characteristics, the selection committee awards the Melton Scholarship to students who show potential for building a lasting career in nursing. Past recipients have also all formed bonds with the Melton family.

“The recipients of the scholarship are like family to us, because we can see in them the same passion for helping others that Kimberly had,” John Melton said.   

Contributions to the Kimberly C. Melton Memorial Scholarship Fund can be made through the RCC Foundation by sending a check to P.O. Box 1189, Hamlet, N.C. 28345. Anyone interested in starting a scholarship in honor or memory of a loved one may also contact the College for more information. The RCC Foundation is a 501c3 organization and all donations are considered tax deductibles.

To apply for the Kimberly C. Melton Scholarship, Nursing Assistant students are encouraged to contact the RCC Financial Aid office, (910) 410-1723 and ask for an application.