Office of Governor Gary Locke
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE - January 21, 2003
Contact:  Governor's Communications Office, 360-902-4136

Gov. Gary Locke Announces 2003-04 Governor’s Scholarship Applications Now Available

OLYMPIA – Jan. 21, 2003 – Gov. Gary Locke today announced that applications for the second year of the Washington State Governor’s Scholarship program are now available. Locke established the program in 2001 to help children in state-recognized foster, group and kinship care enroll in and complete college in Washington state.

“Every child in our great state deserves the opportunity to go to college,” Locke said. “The Governor’s Scholarship program helps those who might not even realize that a college degree is within their reach.”

The scholarship program is primarily funded by proceeds from the annual Governor’s Cup Golf Tournament and is managed by the Washington Education Foundation. All applicants must be in state-recognized foster, group or kinship care and be current high school seniors who plan to graduate during the 2002-03 school year. Additional eligibility criteria can be found on the Washington Education Foundation’s Web site – www.waedfoundation.org.

All 19 students who received four-year Governor’s Scholarships from the first year of the program are currently attending 11 colleges throughout the state. For the second year of the program, the foundation expects to select 25 new scholarship recipients.

“The Washington Education Foundation is honored to help provide meaningful futures for these students,” said Ann Ramsay-Jenkins, the foundation’s vice president and co-founder. “We are very aware of the population of young people in permanent foster care who do not have the love and support of parents to encourage them to graduate from high school and go on to college. We want to do all we can to help them succeed.”

Applications can be downloaded from the Washington Education Foundation’s Web site or can be requested by calling 1-877-655-4097. Applications must be postmarked by March 3, 2003.

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