Office of Governor Gary Locke
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE - December 15, 2003
Contact:  Governor's Communications Office, 360-902-4136
Alt Contact:  Ann Tran, Washington Education Foundation, 425-416-2013

Gov. Gary Locke Announces 2004-05 Governor’s Scholarship Applications Now Available

OLYMPIA – Dec. 15, 2003 – Gov. Gary Locke today announced that applications for the third 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.

“Higher education should be a right, not a privilege. We want to give every child in Washington 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 possible.”

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 2003-04 school year. Additional applicant eligibility criteria can be found on the foundation’s Web site, www.waedfoundation.org (click on the Governor’s Scholarship link).

The 40 students who received Governor’s Scholarships during the first and second years of the program are currently attending 20 colleges throughout the state. For the third year of the program, the foundation expects to select 25-30 new scholarship recipients.

“The Washington Education Foundation is honored to manage this program and do our part in helping to provide meaningful futures for these students,” said Ann Ramsay-Jenkins, the foundation’s vice president and treasurer. “We are aware of young people in permanent foster care who do not have the love and support of their birth parents to encourage them to graduate from high school and go on to college. We want to provide these students with the support and resources they need.”

Applications can be downloaded from the foundation’s Web site or can be requested by calling 1-877-655-4097. Applications must be postmarked by March 1, 2004.

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