A milestone has been reached by the Washington Apple Education Foundation (WAEF): over $1 million in scholarships has been awarded in a single year to college bound students raised in the fruit growing districts of Washington.
“Five years ago we awarded just over $400,000 in scholarships. Each year since we’ve seen significant jumps in industry supported scholarships,” Rachel Sullivan, the foundation’s outgoing chairman said.
The WAEF was founded in 1994 to be the charity of the tree fruit industry. Its mission is to improve lives through access to educational opportunities. Last year 225 students shared in more than $850,000 in scholarships.
“The assistance of private scholarship funds is vital to college accessibility for thousands of Washington youth. The WAEF assists young people whose parents are employed in the tree fruit industry,” Gene Sharratt, executive director of the Washington Student Achievement Council said.
Sharratt helped with the organization of WAEF’s scholarship program 20 years ago. “Many of these parents work in labor positions to provide for the immediate needs of their families; the cost of college attendance is an expense greater than they can bear alone. Foundation donors should be commended for their efforts.”
In total, the foundation manages more than 100 unique scholarship funds each with its own set of specific criteria but sharing a primary purpose of assisting young people raised in families connected to or employed in the tree fruit industry attend college.
Sharing in this year’s scholarship awards are more than 200 students.
