About Us

In 1955 the Bellaire Chamber of Commerce (later the Greater Southwest Houston Chamber, now the Houston Metropolitan Chamber) began a scholarship program.

Helen and Clyde Willbern began participating in the 1980s and spurred the program to become a separate foundation interlocked with the Chamber. In 2013, the Willbern Heritage Scholarship Foundation, Inc., was created independent of the Chamber and doing business as The Helen and Clyde Willbern Scholarship Foundation.

Applicants must work regularly at jobs outside their school activities with permission from the school. Students may be enrolled in a CTE or similar work program, and work for unpaid jobs or internships is also acceptable. Any work experience must be fully documented. They must attend one of these southwest area Houston ISD high schools: Bellaire, Lamar, Sharpstown, Westbury, and Wisdom.

Students must show a daily routine consisting of both school studies/activities and regular employment outside the school.

Clyde Willbern, a former Chairman of the Board of the Chamber, gave a very generous matching donation to the foundation in 1993. Shortly after, he gave another donation which ensured that two scholarships would be given in the names of Clyde and his wife Helen in perpetuity.

Each year the Foundation awards scholarships from these two original endowments plus additional scholarships funded by individuals and businesses. In addition to annual fund raising for new scholarships, the Board of Directors is actively soliciting larger contributions to build the fund to sustain more annual scholarships.