Office of Governor Gary Locke
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE - December 10, 2004
Contact:  Governor's Communications Office, 360-902-4136
Alt Contact:  Maile Monroe, Washington Education Foundation, 425-416-2028

Gov. Gary Locke Announces 2005-06 Governor’s Scholarship Applications Now Available

OLYMPIA – Dec. 10, 2004 – Gov. Gary Locke today announced that applications for the fourth year of the Washington State Governor’s Scholarship for Foster Youth are now available. Locke established the program in 2001 to help children in state or federally recognized foster, group and kinship care enroll in and complete college in Washington state.

“Higher education should be a right, not a privilege,” Locke said. “Every child in Washington deserves the opportunity to go to college. The Governor’s Scholarship program helps those who might not even realize that a college degree is possible.”

The scholarship program is 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 (or have been until emancipation) and be current high school seniors who plan to graduate during the 2004-05 school year. Additional applicant eligibility criteria can be found on the Washington Education Foundation’s Web site – www.waedfoundation.org (click on the Governor’s Scholarship link).

The 70 students who received Governor’s Scholarships during the first three years of the program are currently attending 27colleges throughout the state. For the fourth year of the program, the Washington Education Foundation expects to select 25-30 new scholarship recipients.

“The Washington Education Foundation is very 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 very aware of the population of young people in permanent foster care that 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 Washington Education Foundation’s Web site or can be requested by calling 1-877-655-4097. Applications must be postmarked by Wednesday, March 1, 2005.

» Return to this month's News Releases

» View News Release Archive