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T
he academic superstars and high achievers who make up this year’s class of
Promotional Product Education Foundation (PPEF) scholarship recipients come
from all over the country and, this fall, will make their mark on college campuses near
and far. The one unifying factor for this year’s scholarship winners is the promotional
products industry’s support of these outstanding students who are not just representing
the future workforce as a whole, but also symbolize the future of the industry itself.
Pat Dugan, MAS, chair of the foundation’s
board of trustees and a longtime PPEF volunteer,
says the industry supports PPEF and its
scholarship recipients “because individuals and
companies believe in helping our own. We are
talking about kids, college scholarships and about
knowing that a large group of kids truly need help.
PPEF started giving six scholarships in 1989 and
currently we are giving 102 scholarships. Success
and support go hand in hand.”
Dugan, who is vice president of sales and
marketing for supplier Budgetcard, and has
been volunteering for PPEF for nearly 16
years, says she is proud of the developments
that have come during her time with PPEF;
in addition to devoting more than 50 percent
of scholarships to need-based applications,
the foundation is in the strategic planning
phase of a proposed scholarship/mentoring
program. “We will continue to break new
ground in order to guarantee the continued
success of this foundation,” she says.
But, she adds, “We will be a total success
when every industry person and company
knows what PPEF is all about and realizes what
these scholarships mean to the kids. Once this
happens, we will have 100-percent buy-in and
a very well-funded scholarship foundation that
offers many scholarships on different levels. This
is what I would love to see happen with PPEF.”
Paula Shulman, vice chair of the PPEF
fundraising committee and an incoming member
of the executive committee, is a recent addition
to the PPEF Foundation, having joined in 2015.
“I like giving back to an industry that has been
so good to me,” says Shulman, vice president of
by
Jen Alexander
PPEF WELCOMES A NEW CLASS OF SCHOLARS
in esting iN
ouR futuRe
PPEF Scholars
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FEATURE
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OCTOBER 2016
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