When Kim Parsell passed away in early 2015, the WordPress Foundation created a travel scholarship in her name not only to remember her, but to give a woman an opportunity to attend the largest WordCamp in the US who may not have the financial means to do so.
WordCamp US is accepting applications for this year’s scholarship. The deadline to apply is October 16th at 12am Pacific Time. Only one scholarship will be awarded and is funded by the WordPress Foundation. It covers the cost of admission, airfare, and lodging.
It does not cover things like taxis, meals outside the official event, or transportation to and from the airport. A winner will be announced on November 1st.
To qualify for the scholarship, applicants must meet the following requirements.
- Must be a woman, this includes trans women.
- An active contributor to the WordPress project either through one of the contributor teams or as a local meetup or WordCamp organizer.
- Someone with financial need.
- Someone who has never attended WordCamp US.
Anyssa Ferreira, who won the scholarship last year was unable to attend the event due to her travel VISA being denied. WordCamp US is scheduled to take place on December 2-4 in Philadelphia, PA.
If the person who wins does not have a US VISA because they are out of the US then Automattic should be willing to write an invitation letter to help the VISA process.
Not sure if they do that already but it of course helps. I know because I recently got my US VISA by mentioning that I’m attending WCUS and I personally asked for a letter from WCUS.