KANSAS CITY, MO. (April 28, 2023 ) The NFL isn’t the only draft in town this week. KC Scholars will continue its tradition of supporting and sustaining educational opportunities for low-and-modest income students across a six-county Kansas City region.
On Friday, April 28th, beginning at 8 a.m. and throughout the morning, KC Scholars will award 575 scholarships for students in a six-county region across the Kansas City area. The 11th grade scholars, who recently completed a competitive application process, will be receiving either a $50,000 scholarships – $10,000 per year for up to five years. The 9th graders will be recipients of a college savings match program. KC Scholars not only provides the funding for school they also provide access to a variety of wrap-around support services to help them complete their degrees. As in the past, the organization will surprise several scholars with scholarship announcements and festivities at their respective schools and all schools will host a fun and exciting surprise award day with the hashtag #draftedbykcscholars.
“KC Scholars believes in scholars first and hope which are represented as our core values,” said KC Scholars President and CEO Earl Martin Phalen. “It is so gratifying to show our scholars that, because of their hard work, they can attend college and secure careers that will forever change their lives and that of their loved ones.”
In the last six years, KC Scholars has awarded more than 6,000 scholarship awards and has seen more than 150 scholars through to graduation. Their current persistence rate of 90% supports the organization’s goal that 75% of participants complete an associate degree, bachelor’s degree, or earn a credit-bearing credential.
“Seeing the impact and joy that KC Scholars makes on the scholars never gets old,” said KC Scholars Board Chair Jan Kreamer. “Surprise Awards Day is the culmination of many people’s efforts; watching the looks on their faces when we surprise them with their awards reaffirms, for us, the importance of investing in human potential and the community.”
What began as “Project Choice” in April 1988, through the generosity and vision of legendary philanthropist Ewing Kauffman, continues to help Kansas City-area students realize their dreams to attend college or attain industry-recognized certifications. Nearly 35 years later, the KC Scholars program remains possible through the continued generous financial support of The Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation.
Kansas City Scholars (www.kcscholars.org) was designed to change thousands of individual lives and transform the region by preparing our future workforce and contributing to the regional economy. It is a 501(c)(3) college scholarship, persistence, and support organization designed to increase the college completion rate for low- and modest- income students and adult learners across the six-county, bi-state service region. KC Scholars awards traditional college scholarships to high school juniors, adult learner scholarships to adults 18 years and older, and college savings match awards to high school freshman. KC Scholars supports all its awardees throughout the process and during college.
KC Scholars newest program, Great Jobs KC, provides tuition assistance to approved job training programs in high paying and high-demand industries such as construction, healthcare, information technology, and manufacturing. With the support of Great Jobs KC, adults 18 and older can learn the skills needed in one year or less to earn between $45,000-$85,000.
Launched in September 2016, KC Scholars has experienced widespread community engagement and rapid scaling. KC Scholars has more than 6,000 scholars, with over 2,000 scholarship recipients currently in college.
