Houston Ford Dealers Launch $100,000 in Scholarships
** Information provided by Ford. **
Apply today! Scholarship deadline is February 29, 2016
Ford Motor Company Fund, in collaboration with Houston-area Ford Dealers, recently launched the Ford Driving Dreams education initiative. Their contribution to the launch included a donation of 10,000 new books and $100,000 in scholarships available to high school seniors in the Houston area.
The scholarships, which will be administered by LULAC National Educational Service Centers, Inc. (LNESC), are available to graduating high school seniors in Houston and San Antonio, Texas. The scholarship application is available at www.forddrivingdreams.com and the deadline is February 29, 2016.
“The Houston Area Ford Dealers are part of the fabric of the Greater Houston community and we couldn’t think of a better way to demonstrate our commitment than to invest in our young people,” said Ron Ewer, chair of Houston Ford Dealers Advertising Fund (FDAF). “Through our innovative collaboration with Ford Fund, we can make great strides when it comes to advancing the educational achievement of Greater Houston students from elementary to high school.”
Joe Avila, manager of community relations of Ford Motor Company Fund, said, “Our goal is to be an active participant in the educational success of our future leaders. What better way to do this than to promote literacy among our children by giving them access to new books. At the same time, high school seniors will have the opportunity to apply for college scholarships. These partnerships with LNESC and First Book are both an important component of our education efforts throughout the year.”
This initiative is part of Ford’s overall education efforts in that state of Texas and focuses on promoting reading at an early age. According to the American Educational Research Association, the ability to read by the third grade determines a child’s future. Yet, research shows that in some of the lowest-income communities, there is only one book per 300 children. The 10,000 new books will be distributed by the end of the school year to children attending nearly 100 schools and programs that serve low-income communities in Greater Houston.
“Having access to books is one of the biggest predictors of a child’s academic success,” said Kyle Zimmer, president and CEO of First Book. “And together with Ford we’re helping level the playing field for kids who too often go without these and other critical educational resources. We’re proud to join Ford and its Houston dealers to provide new books to kids in Houston and look forward to our continued work to improve lives in the communities across the country.”
For more information, visit www.forddrivingdreams.com.
At NRG Stadium, 60 students from Shearn Elementary joined Houston Ford Dealers as they announced a new philanthropic program for Houston called Ford Fund, which will provide 10,000 books and $100,000 in scholarships for Houston students. Houston Texans player Xavier Su’a-Filo made a surprise appearance and read a story to the Shearn students, who got to take home a free book and take a VIP stadium tour.
Sandra Fernandez is a professional communicator, tech enthusiast, book lover, and blogger. You can find her main blog at SandraSays.com and more of her writing at HispanicHouston.com.