KANSAS CITY, Mo. – The Veterans of Foreign Wars is pleased to announce the first-ever VFW “Sport Clips Help A Hero Scholarship” recipients. In all, 43 veterans were awarded this veterans-only scholarship, of up to $5,000 each, to help cover the cost of school tuition and fees for the 2014 spring semester.
Here is the complete list of recipients.
The VFW “Sport Clips Help A Hero Scholarship” program launched last fall with nearly 400 applicants. Both the VFW and Sport Clips Haircuts expect the program to grow as more veterans become aware of it.
Applications are now being accepted for the fall semester; the deadline to apply is April 30. For more information, including eligibility criteria, visit vfw.org/scholarship.
“The VFW is here to support our veterans as they transition to civilian life, and we know education is a crucial element to ensuring they succeed. The GI Bill is fantastic, but it has its limits, and this scholarship will help fill the gaps for so many veterans,” said VFW National Commander Bill Thien.
Sport Clips provides funding for the program through its annual “Help A Hero” campaign. In 2013, more than 1,000 Sport Clips locations across the nation raised more than $500,000 to benefit the program. Donations were collected in stores and at local fundraising events in the fall with efforts culminating Veterans Day, on Sport Clips’ “Biggest Haircut Day of the Year.” Stores donated a dollar from every haircut service to the scholarship program.
“Our scholarship recipients’ post-military career aspirations may vary, but the drive to make our country proud and make a contribution – this time, as civilians – is something they all have in common,” says Sport Clips CEO and Founder Gordon Logan, a U.S. Air Force veteran and lifetime member of the VFW. “It’s an honor for Sport Clips to join the VFW in this effort to support our nation’s heroes, and we’re grateful to our franchisees, team members, clients, and others for their contributions to make these scholarships possible.”