Military children scholarship program opens

  • Published
  • By Tammy Reed
  • Defense Commissary Agency
FORT LEE, Va. --   As families and friends come together to celebrate their favorite winter holidays, it's also time for parents to remind students to apply for the 2011 Scholarships for Military Children program.

Scholarship applications are now available in commissaries worldwide, and online at www.commissaries.com under the "News and Info" tab and at www.militaryscholar.org.
Since the program was announced in 2000, it has awarded $8.3 million in scholarships to more than 5,400 children of servicemembers.

"The Scholarships for Military Children program was created to recognize the contributions of military families to the readiness of the fighting force," said the Defense Commissary Agency's acting director and Chief Executive Officer, Thomas E. Milks. "It also celebrates our role in the military community, as the scholarships are awarded annually through each commissary operated by DeCA."

Scholarship applicants must be unmarried youths age 21 or younger (if enrolled as a full-time student at a college or university, they can be up to 23 years old), of a servicemember who is active-duty, reserve, guard or retired. Youths who are survivors of servicemembers who died while on active-duty or while receiving military retirement pay may also apply as long as they meet the age and marital requirements.

Eligibility is determined using the Defense Enrollment Eligibility Reporting System database. Applicants should ensure that they and their sponsor are enrolled in the DEERS database and have a current military ID card.

The applicant must plan to attend, or already be attending an accredited college or university full time in the fall of 2011, or be enrolled in a program of studies designed to transfer directly into a four-year program.

Applicants must submit an essay on the following topic and answer the question: "Our nation has a goal of improving health and wellness. What are your ideas and more importantly, how do you propose to put these ideas into action in your local community?" Applications must be turned in to a commissary by close of business Feb. 22, 2011. At least one scholarship will be awarded at every commissary with qualified applicants.

Scholarship awards will be based on funds available, but the scholarship program anticipates awards of at least $1,500. If there are no eligible applicants from a particular commissary, the funds designated for that commissary will be awarded as an additional scholarship at another store.

Scholarship Managers, a national nonprofit scholarship-management services organization, manages and awards these military scholarships.

For more information about the scholarship program application, call Scholarship Managers at (856) 616-9311 or e-mail militaryscholar@scholarshipmanagers.com.

Commissary vendors, manufacturers, brokers, suppliers and the general public donate money to the program and every dollar donated goes directly to funding the scholarships.