With Qcity billionaire C.D Spangler handing out millions of dollars last week to various education-related causes, the efforts of Dr. Michael Friedland may have gone unnoticed.

So, for those who missed it, here’s a recap:

Friedland (third from left in photo) is a doctor of internal medicine who lives in Charlotte. He grew up in Brooklyn, N.Y, attended public schools and graduated from Vassar College.

Of all the things his parents instilled in him, he said, what he appreciates most is a love for learning. Friedland said he wants all children to have that thirst.

A few years ago he started brainstorming ways to encourage learning in some of Charlotte’s poorest and lowest-performing schools. That’s how the Friedland Foundation was born.

Last week at a CMS media briefing, Friedland introduced three middle school students who will receive the first round of college scholarships from the foundation. All attend Title 1 schools – schools that receive extra federal funding because of high rates of poverty and low test scores.

There was Tirre Bardlavens (second from left in photo), an eighth-grader at John Taylor Williams, who will get a full, four-year scholarship to the state school of his choice.

There was Jaylon Stockton (left in photo), an eighth-grader at Bishop Spaugh, who will get $2,000 a year for four years.

And there was A Ja’Nay Bucholtz (right in photo), an eighth-grader at Eastway Middle, who will get $1,500 a year for four years.

Along with the cash, the students also receive one-on-one mentoring. All that is expected of them, Friedland said, is that they maintain good grades.

Friedland said he chose middle school students because he wanted to offer incentives at an early age. By the time students enter high school, he said, it is often too late.

For Nikefa Grayson, A Ja'Nay’s mother, the scholarship is a “stress reliever.”

“I just can’t put in words what Mr. Friedland has done for my daughter,” she told Qcitymetro.com. “To find a person in the community who cares so much for strangers is just awesome.”

A Ja'Nay said her goal in life is to be an obstetrician-gynecologist, a pediatrician and a pastry chef.

Tirre, who won the full scholarship, said he wants to be a mathematician. He said he’s been thinking about college since elementary school and that the scholarship has motivated him to stay focused.

Friedland said the foundation has raised about $100,000 in the last year and a half. Aside from his own money, he has hit up friends, family and associates to contribute.

Friedland said his goal is to endow the foundation, which would mean raising between $800,000 and $1 million. He wants to offer scholarships at each of the district’s Title 1 middle schools (currently 11).

Meanwhile, the foundation is soliciting its next round of scholarship applications. Winner will be announced in May.