Simon Youth Foundation Seeks Applicants for $1 million in Scholarships
For a 12th straight year, Simon Youth Foundation, a national nonprofit that provides educational opportunities for at-risk high school students, will award a college scholarship to one student from every community that is home to a Simon property.
Simon Youth Foundation Community Scholarships are awarded through the Simon Youth Scholarships program and in partnership with local Simon properties. The application period is open now through Friday, January 11, 2013.
Locally, students can pick up a copy of a scholarship application at Simon Guest Services at Jefferson Valley Mall. Applications also can be downloaded at the SYF website at www.syf.org/our-initiatives/scholarships/community-application or http://www.syf.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/11/SMS-2013-application.pdf
Any student who will be graduating in the class of 2013 and lives within 50 miles of a Simon property is eligible. The program will award a one-time scholarship of up to $1,400 to students who plan to enroll in an accredited college, university, vocational or technical school.
In addition, ten regional awards called “Award of Excellence” will be given to top candidates. The regions eligible are Atlanta, Austin, Boston, Dallas, Indianapolis, Miami, New York, Orange County(CA), Orlando, and Seattle/Tacoma. Students from these areas will have the opportunity to win a $2,500 scholarship that is renewable for up to three years.
In 2012, the Simon Youth Scholarships program awarded $1.2 million to 378 students nationwide.
“Our mission is to ignite hope for a brighter future in students, and our Foundation is proud to partner with Jefferson Valley Mall to award scholarships that will remove some of the financial obstacles that would otherwise prevent a student from achieving the dream of a college education,” says J. Michael Durnil, Ph.D., the President and CEO of SYF.
Since its inception in 1998, SYF has supported 23 Simon Youth Academies in 13U.S.states that give at-risk students the same education they would receive in a traditional classroom while offering the flexibility that their individual circumstances require. It has helped more than 9,700 students earn their high school diploma and provided more than $10 million in college scholarships to 3,900 students in 42 states.
The 2013 SYF Community Scholarship recipients will be selected by Scholarship Management Services, a third-party administrator. Students are selected based on a variety of criteria, including financial need, academic performance, leadership skills and participation in school and community activities. Those students who are the first in their family to pursue a post secondary education will also be given close consideration.
The completed application, along with official school transcripts and parents’ most recently filed tax form, must be sent to Scholarship Management Services by March 1.
Jefferson Valley Mall is located on Route 6, a quarter mile east of theTaconic State ParkwayinYorktownHeightsand is owned and managed by Simon Property Group, Inc., headquartered in Indianapolis, Indiana.
Adam has worked in the local news industry for the past two decades in Westchester County and the broader Hudson Valley. Read more from Adam’s author bio here.
