Scholarship funds established at the national, state, institutional, and corporate levels are making a postsecondary education possible for family members of the men and women who were victims of the September 11 attacks.
Soon after September 11, NASFAA created the September 11 Resource Page at www.NASFAA.org/linklists/911ResourcePage.html to bring together in one place guidance and information for financial aid administrators and members of the public.
As the first scholarship funds were announced for the families of those who died or were injured in the attacks, NASFAA started to compile of funds created by companies, organizations, and postsecondary institutions. Created originally to help financial aid administrators, the list at www.NASFAA.org/911scholarships.asp is also used as a resource by the families of victims.
Please share the information on this page with any of your students who might qualify for scholarship assistance. If your institution offers a September 11-related scholarship that is not listed, we ask you to complete the on-line response form so your scholarship may be added.
The September 11 Resource Page also features policy guidance from the departments of Education and Health and Human Services.
NASFAA serves as an Advisory Member of the September 11 Scholarship Alliance, which was formed by scholarship providers and associated organizations to coordinate and simplify the postsecondary scholarship application process for the families of those who died or were permanently disabled in the attacks: airplane crews and passengers, World Trade Center and Pentagon workers and visitors, and relief workers, including firefighters, law enforcement and Port Authority officers, and emergency medical personnel. See http://www.scholarships911.org/ for more information.
NASFAA has also served in an advisory capacity to Scholarship America in the administration of the Families of Freedom Scholarship Fund and Families of Freedom 2.
The Families of Freedom Scholarship Fund provides education assistance for postsecondary study to dependents of those killed or permanently disabled as a result of the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks. The Families of Freedom Scholarship Fund has distributed $2,841,126 in scholarship support to 275 recipients. Of the 275 recipients, 239 are the children of September 11 victims, while the others are primarily spouses of a victim. Scholarship America has registered 3,400 eligible individuals for the fund, representing 1,285 families. The fund was created by Scholarship America and the Lumina Foundation for Education. Information on the fund is available at http://www.familiesoffreedom.org/.
Families of Freedom 2 provides scholarships for families in Lower Manhattan south of Houston Street who suffered loss of income as a result of the September 11, 2001 attacks on the World Trade Center. Families of Freedom 2 has distributed $1,678,950 in scholarship support to 429 recipients. The fund was co-founded by Scholarship America and AXA Foundation, the philanthropic arm of AXA Financial, Inc.
Those eligible to apply for Families of Freedom 2 scholarships are business owners or employees who lost their jobs; spouses of business owners or employees who lost their jobs; and dependent children of business owners or employees (children must be high school seniors or older at the time of application). Eligible students are encouraged to visit Web site at www.familiesoffreedom2.org or e-mail families911@csfa.org or call toll-free 1-866-243-4644.
Remarks made a year ago in Today's News by NASFAA President Dallas Martin are worth repeating on this anniversary:
"As we mark this day, our thoughts and condolences again go out to all of the families and friends who lost loved ones, as well as our best wishes for the continued recovery of those who were injured. And we all pray that in the days ahead, education, tolerance, and understanding can help everyone to live in peace throughout the world for the remainder of our generation and for generations to come."
Posted September 11, 2003 on www.NASFAA.org, Web Site of the
National Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators
Copyright 2003.
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