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                                               Latonio “TNT” Meeks Scholarship

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                                                                                         SMG Community Cares has established the Latonio “TNT” Meeks Scholarship to financially reward adults that are ambitious about pursuing their purpose in life.

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Thanks to the support of SMG Community Cares one-time awards of $500 each will be granted up to 10 recipients for the Fall 2026 semester.

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The scholarship is named after Latonio Meeks, a native from Chicago, IL. who’ve worked rigorously to achieve his dreams of becoming a successful artist, photographer, producer, and faithful man of God. He dedicated his life to walking in his purpose as God has called him to do. Latonio went by the stage name ‘TNT” implicating that even with all of the odd’s conjoined against him, he would remain focused, dedicated, and obedient along his journey, and become the greatest version of himself possible. Eligibility for the scholarship is determined at the sole discretion of the sponsor and eligible applications are reviewed by the SMG Community cares evaluation team.

 

Eligibility

Applicants for the Latonio “TNT” Meeks Scholarship must be:

• U.S. residents

• Currently enrolled or planning to enroll full-time or part-time** Trade school or High school major in Trade, music, photography, medical studies at an accredited two- or four-year college, university or high school, vocational-technical/trade school for the Fall 2026 semester.

• 15 years old or older (no upper age limit, veterans and non-traditional students are encouraged.)

•  G.P.A 3.0 or higher

• Attendance greater than 75%  
  **There is no minimum amount of credit hours to be part-time (example, one class is considered part time).

**Individuals with a prior felony or misdemeanor are welcome to apply as long as they are enrolled in school.

Awards

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If selected as a recipient, the student will receive a $500 award. Up to (10) awards will be granted. Awards are not renewable, but students may reapply to the program each year they meet eligibility requirements. Recipients can receive the award no more than four times.

Awards are for accredited courses; including vocational-technical/trade school, undergraduate, graduate study and single classes verified under an accredited program.

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Notification

Applicants will be notified in June 2026. Not all applicants to the program will be selected as recipients. Students may reapply to the program each year they meet eligibility requirements.

Notifications are sent via email. When setting up your account, avoid using a school or work email. Instead, use an active, personal email address that you will continue to have access to.

Please make sure to add administration@smgsh.com as well as the program email address as safe senders in your email contact list.

 

Payment of Scholarships

Latonio “TNT” Meeks Scholarship processes scholarship payments on behalf of SMG Community Cares. Payments are made payable to the institution in one installment in August and sent directly to the individual.

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Selection of Recipients

Scholarship recipients are selected based on:

• An Essay*

• Demonstrated leadership and participation in school and community activities.

• Work experience

• Academic performance

*Essay topic: Reflecting on your own journey or what you’ve observed in others, what do you believe is the most overlooked challenge your field of choice and how do you think it could be addressed? How do you plan to use your gifts and talents to positively impact the world.

Financial need will be considered.

 

Requirements

As part of your application, you must upload the following:

1. Your most recent transcript of grades (high school, GED, college, etc.) Grade reports are not accepted. Unofficial or online transcripts must display:

   • Student name

   • School name

   • Grades

   • Credit hours for each course and term in which each course was taken.
     
     NOTE: If you are providing SAT or ACT test scores, and those scores are not listed on your high school transcript, you will need to upload a copy of your test score report(s) separately. If you are uploading a college transcript, those scores are not required.

Your application is not complete unless all required documents are submitted electronically or in person.

 

Submission

 

Your application could be submitted by:

 

In-Person:

 

Love Feast Church of God in Christ

2456 Chase St, Gary, IN. 46404

Sundays 9:00 am-2:30 pm

 

Deadline: January 31, 2026