VFW Names 2017 Spring Scholarship Recipients

More than $600,000 in scholarships will be awarded to 135 student veterans

KANSAS CITY, Mo. – The Veterans of Foreign Wars of the U.S. is proud to announce the selection of 135 student veterans as VFW’s “Sport Clips Help A Hero Scholarship” recipients for the 2017 spring semester. The program, currently in its fourth year, will distribute more than $600,000 in scholarships to help student veterans in college or trade school.

View the entire list of recipients.

Enacted in 2014, the Help A Hero scholarship program was created in conjunction with Sport Clips to help ease the burden of student loans for America’s service members and veterans. Each semester, service members and veterans can apply for scholarships of up to $5,000. These scholarships help student veterans achieve their educational goals and take the next steps to starting their careers in the civilian workforce.

University of Wisconsin recipient, Matthew Carbonelli, said he was worried about having to compete for outside funding after he exhausted his veterans benefits and his state cutting higher education funding, but “With the help of the VFW and Sport Clips, I am sure that I will have another successful semester and be closer to achieving my goal of becoming a licensed psychologist with the goal of assisting veterans with achieving mental health wellness,” he said.

To date, more than $3 million in Help A Hero scholarships have been awarded to 718 service members and veterans.

“The VFW Help A Hero scholarship program was created to help our military and veterans to successfully transition back into society,” said VFW National Commander Brian Duffy. “Education and training lasts a lifetime, and we are grateful to Sport Clips’ owners, stylists and professional partners nationwide for sharing in our goal to help more veterans to accomplish their education and career dreams.”

Applications for the 2017 fall semester will be accepted until April 30, 2017. Learn more about the Help A Hero Scholarship program, and apply today online.