VFW Announces Landmark Semester for VFW’s ‘Sport Clips Help A Hero Scholarship’

Jan 19, 2016

KANSAS CITY, Mo. – The Veterans of Foreign Wars of the United States (VFW) is pleased to announce 133 service members and veterans have been named recipients of the VFW’s “Sport Clips Help A Hero Scholarship,” making the 2016 spring semester the highest award period since the program’s inception in 2013. These student veterans will receive over $563,500 in combined aid.

See a complete list of the 2016 spring recipients.

For many student veterans, military educational benefits are often exhausted before the full costs of a college education are accounted for, leaving many without a completed degree or burdened with excessive student loans.

The VFW’s “Sport Clips Help A Hero Scholarship” program, created through the VFW’s long-standing relationship with Sport Clips Haircuts, provides service members and veterans with the financial support they need to complete their educational goals without incurring unmanageable student loan debt. Funding for the scholarships is made possible through Sport Clips’ annual Help A Hero fundraiser, in which locations across the nation participate. In mid-October through November 11, Veterans Day, Sport Clips stylists raise funds in-store and in their communities to benefit the scholarship program. In 2015, the company exceeded their $750,000 fundraising goal with a donation total of more than $900,000.

The Help A Hero scholarship program has experienced great success, awarding more than $1.8 million in financial aid and has provided scholarships to 444 service members and veterans to date.

“It is challenging to convey the amount of gratitude I feel,” explained scholarship recipient Joshua R. East. “Even though the gesture of a scholarship may seem insignificant to some, it is a beacon of hope and inspiration to me, and to those like me.”

Help A Hero scholarships are awarded twice a year, exclusively to service members and veterans to help cover the cost of tuition and fees. Scholarship applications are currently being accepted for the 2016 fall semester. Apply today.