The Marine Corps Scholarship Foundation raised more than $300,000 at its 23rd Annual Washington Gala for high school and college students on June 6. More than 80 students will receive about $3,400 each this year to use at their university of choice.
Since 1962, the foundation has been awarding scholarships to children of Marines and Navy corpsmen serving with the Marines— particularly children with parents killed or wounded in action.
Children of active-duty or former Marines who have served honorably for more than 90 days in the Marine Corps or Marine Corps Reserve are eligible to apply. For more information, visit www.mcsf.com.
ACHS Joins Imagine America
The Imagine America scholarship program recently added the American College of Healthcare Science (ACHS) in Portland, Ore., as a participating institution. The program awards $1,000 in tuition to veterans with expired military benefits and spouses of active duty servicemembers. Applicants for scholarships to ACHS must enroll in at least six credit hours of classes and maintain a cumulative GPA of 3.0 or more.
Established in 1982, the Imagine American Foundation began offering military scholarships in 2004 and now counts more than 300 colleges and universities as participating institutions. More information on the foundation may be found at www.imagine-america.org.
New Scholarships at UCO, MSU
The Folds of Honor Foundation created a new scholarship available through the University of Central Oklahoma Foundation that will provide $2,500 to family members of soldiers killed or disabled while on duty, the Edmond Sun reported. Applicants must live in Oklahoma and attend the University of Central Oklahoma as an undergraduate or graduate student. More information is available at www.uco.edu.
In other news, Beckley, W.V.-based Mountain State University said it lowered its tuition rate for active duty military, reservists and National Guard members to $250 per credit hour for many of its undergraduate programs, with spouses and dependents also eligible.
More information is available at www.mountainstate.edu.
Giving to Educational Charities Drops
A new report from the Giving USA Foundation found that twothirds of charities in 2008, including those focused on education, saw donations fall compared with the year before. While charitable giving in 2008 exceeded $300 million for the second year in a row, the total number of $307.65 billion—when adjusted for inflation—represents a 2 percent drop from 2007. But Giving USA Foundation chair Del Martin said in a press release the total was nonetheless impressive given the sharp downturn in the economy that began last year. In the area of education specifically, organizations received approximately $41 billion, down about 9 percent from 2007 when adjusted for inflation.
More information on the annual report is available at www.givingusa.org.
Submarine Group Awards 30 Scholarships
The Dolphin Scholarship Foundation announced its latest group of scholarships winners, providing $3,400 per year for up to four years to 30 high school and college students who are the children or stepchildren of current or former members of the U.S. Navy’s submarine force. The foundation plans to fund 137 scholarships in the 2009–2010 academic year totaling $465,800.
One standout in the group of recipients is high school senior Gavin Matthews of Norfolk, Va., who was designed the “Holland Scholar” in honor of John Holland, inventor of the first submarine purchased by the U.S. Navy on April 11, 1900.
The foundation first began awarding scholarships in 1961. More information about the group is available at www.dolphinscholarship.org.