NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--On April 19, the Marine Corps Scholarship Foundation, the nation’s oldest and largest provider of need-based scholarships to military children, will recognize distinguished leaders from the worlds of business and the military who have upheld the Scholarship Foundation’s mission of Honoring Marines by Educating Their Children at the 51st annual New York Leatherneck Scholarship Ball.
In the current academic year, the Marine Corps Scholarship Foundation has awarded $6,000,000 in scholarships to more than 1,900 children of Marines and Navy Corpsmen, including 96 children from the Tri-State Area. The Scholarship Foundation provides critical support to Marine families as the economy continues to recover and the ever-increasing costs of higher education significantly outpace the average military family income.
“We are committed to honoring our country’s Marines and ensuring that a child’s education is not another sacrifice that military families have to make,” said Margaret B. Davis, President and CEO of the Marine Corps Scholarship Foundation. “At a time when the United States is falling behind other industrialized nations in higher education attainment, our scholarship recipients are showing great promise in the important fields of science, technology, engineering, and math, and 86 percent graduate from their chosen institutions, making a meaningful contribution to American competitiveness.”
General James N. Mattis, who served as Commander of the United States Central Command, will attend this year’s New York Leatherneck Scholarship Ball as the Military Guest of Honor. Gen. Mattis provided critical leadership during U.S. military operations in Iraq and Afghanistan and inspired a generation of Marines to serve their country selflessly.
“I can think of no greater gift to those who have risked, and even sacrificed, their lives in service to this country, than an investment in their children's college educations. The Marine Corps Scholarship Foundation honors the sacrifices made by our Marines and their families by helping the sons and daughters of some of America's greatest patriots go to college,” said Gen. Mattis.
In addition to Gen. Mattis, the Marine Corps Scholarship Foundation will honor three leaders and visionaries in the worlds of business and philanthropy who demonstrate the Marine Corps values of honor, courage, and commitment in their work. At the Ball, three awards will be presented, including:
- Semper Fidelis Award, presented to Robert J. Stevens, Executive Chairman of the Lockheed Martin Corporation
- Leatherneck Award, presented to Dean L. Kamen, Ph.D., Founder of DEKA Research and Development Corporation
- Joseph File Memorial Award, presented to Catherine B. Reynolds, Chairman & CEO, Catherine B. Reynolds Foundation.
About the Foundation: The Marine Corps Scholarship Foundation is the Nation’s oldest and largest provider of need-based scholarships to military children. Since its inception in 1962, the Scholarship Foundation has provided more than 30,000 scholarships, valued at over $70,000,000, to children whose Marine or Navy Corpsmen parents have been killed or wounded in combat or have demonstrated financial need. For more information on the Marine Corps Scholarship Foundation, please visit http://www.mcsf.org/.