PPB October 2020

Exotic vectorl / Ink Drop / OSABEE / Pixel-Shot / Tetiana Shumbasova / Shutterstock.com. Photo Illustration by SPARK Publications. ChampioningThe Next Generation F or most students, the rise of the pandemic cut short their spring semester and caused anxiety and uncertainty about what to expect in the fall. But for 160 students, it was indeed happy news to learn they had been selected as a recipient of a Promotional Products Education Foundation scholarship. This year, PPEF awarded a record-breaking $276,750 to support 127 new and 33 renewal scholarships for selected recipients. Among them are 10 four-year scholarships, two chairman’s scholarships and 114 one-year scholarships including 28 named scholarships. Each recipient was carefully chosen based on their academic achievement, extracurricular participation and community service, and received a scholarship worth between $1,000 and $9,000 to support their college educations. In the 31 years since PPEF was founded, it has awarded $2,448,000 million in financial assistance to 1,358 recipients. Being able to continue the scholarships during the pandemic was especially important to most recipients and to PPEF. This year, two-thirds of funding went to students who qualified for financial need. PPEF Board Chair Dana Porter, MAS, says, “PPEF is able to provide more scholarships to industry college students and their children each year. I’mmore than thrilled that PPEF awarded a record number of scholarships through this pandemic. The scholarships provide much-needed funds to cover the increasing costs of earning a college degree. This year more than ever, students and their families need additional support to attend college and thankfully, PPEF can be that outlet. Our industry is like a large family and being able to help the next generation go to college is an important part of what brings us together. I want to thank PPEF’s donors for providing their generous and inspirational support to the next generation.” PPEF’s scholarship awards are determined through a competitive application process. Among the requirements are that applicants must be full-time promotional products industry employees or the dependent children of industry employees; must have a minimum GPA of 3.0 and must meet the deadline of March 15 at midnight PDT. Those being considered for need-based scholarships must also submit a copy of the Student Aid Report that a student receives after filing with the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA). The scholarship application deadline for the 2021-22 school year is March 15, 2021; the online application forms open in January 2021 at www.ppef.us/college-scholarships. PPEF’s generous scholarship program lightens the financial load for 160 college students headed to school this fall. By Tina Berres Filipski PPEF Scholarship Recipients 2020 | FEATURE | OCTOBER 2020 | 51