Scholarship Fund Targets Families of 11 September Victims

To benefit students who are the children and spouses of people killed and maimed in the 11 September attacks on New York and Washington, AAAS and its affiliate organizations are inviting their members to contribute to a scholarship fund that will support undergraduate studies in science and engineering.

The Science and Engineering Scholarship Fund is a special sub-category of the Families of Freedom Scholarship Fund™, which represents a collaboration between the Citizens' Scholarship Foundation of America (CSFA), and the Lumina Foundation for Education. Chaired by former President Bill Clinton and by former Senator Majority Leader Bob Dole, the Families of Freedom Scholarship Fund™ was set up to raise $100 million to help financially-needy family members of the victims of the tragedy. It began to distribute funds in January 2002. A group of scientific societies, led by the America Physical Society (APS), and including AAAS, has volunteered to elicit donations from their members for the Science and Engineering Scholarship Fund to support students interested in studying science and engineering.

"This effort fits in with our mission to increase education in the sciences," says AAAS Chief Development Officer Megan Rock, "But it also gives us a chance to respond to a tragedy that is far outside the norm of our daily experience as an organization. We hope that members who have not yet donated something for the people affected by the events of September 11 will consider this as a way to do it."

More information on how to donate to the science and engineering fund can be found on the APS's Web site. The fund will be managed by the CSFA, which is known for its work designing and managing scholarship funds for corporations, foundations, associations and individuals.

To be eligible, applicants must be financially-needy dependents -- either children or spouses -- of people who died or were permanently disabled as a direct result of the terrorist attacks. They must also be enrolled or have plans to enroll in accredited two- or four-year educational institutions or vocational-technical schools in the United States.

-- Coimbra Sirica