Local Scholarship Helps Moline Students Prepare for Careers Helping Others

The Moline Police Department is giving away a special scholarship to help local high school seniors who want to help others in their future jobs.

Captain Art Gustus Scholarship

This scholarship is called the Captain Art Gustus Scholarship. It is open to students graduating from Moline-Coal Valley schools, Alleman High School, or Quad Cities Christian School.

Captain Art Gustus was a police officer in Moline. Before that, he served in the U.S. Army during World War II. He started working as a police officer in 1945, retired in 1980, and passed away in 2013. This scholarship honors his life and service.

Each year, three students can win money for college:

• First place gets $1,000
• Second place gets $500

To apply, students must:

• Go to school in the Moline-Coal Valley district, or live in Moline and attend one of the listed schools
• Plan to study a job where they help people, like being a police officer, firefighter, teacher, social worker, or working in healthcare
• Write an essay (at least 500 words) about how they want to help their community in the future and how they are already helping now
• They can also include awards or a recommendation letter from a teacher
• Plan to go to college after graduating high school

Applications can be sent to C/O Detective Griffin at 1640 6th Ave. in Moline by May 15, 2026. Winners will be chosen and presented with their checks in June of 2026.