Cumberland Farms to help 130 students attend college through Believe and Achieve Scholarship Program.
The deadline for the Cumberland Farms Believe and Achieve Scholarship Program officially closed on Dec. 15, 2012, and the company has announced that over 1,000 students from the high school class of 2013 have applied to win these scholarships.
Cumberland Farms’ popular scholarship program began six years ago and has already awarded nearly $800,000 in much-needed financial assistance to hundreds of college-bound high school students. The applications for 2013 scholarships are being individually reviewed now to determine whether they meet the eligibility guidelines that include living within a 30-mile radius of a Cumberland Farms store, showing financial need, and exhibiting outstanding academic performance throughout high school.
Finalists in the increasingly competitive selection process will be selected by mid January, and 130 winners will be announced in spring of 2013.
“We are thrilled at the overwhelming response to our Believe and Achieve Scholarship Program this year,” said Ari Haseotes, president of the Cumberland Farms Retail Division. “We are passionate about helping young adults succeed, and this program is a great way for us to provide the financial support that so many bright and ambitious students in our service area need in today’s challenging economic climate.”
“With the assistance of this scholarship, I can pay for textbooks, supplies, and other necessary school expenses,” said 2012 scholarship recipient and Madison, N.H. resident Brittany Colcord. “Pursuing a higher education has always been one of my greatest goals. It is thanks to the generosity of Cumberland Farms that people with large dreams and small budgets can strive to reach their goals.” Colcord now attends Worcester Polytechnic Institute.
The program provides $1,000 scholarships to eligible graduating high school seniors across the Cumberland Farms service area, which includes the Northeast and Florida. The company will award Believe and Achieve Scholarships to 130 students across these regions, totaling $130,000. Believe and Achieve is open to students entering a full-time undergraduate course of study at an accredited college, university or vocational-technical school. Past recipients have gone on to study at such prestigious institutions as Brown University, Harvard College, Syracuse University, and College of the Holy Cross, among many others.
Since formalizing its Corporate Giving Program seven years ago, Cumberland Farms has donated millions of dollars in cash and products to causes that directly benefit thousands of young people through scholarships, direct-to-school programs, youth sports, local fundraising and more.