The Michaels Organization Awards New Round of Scholarships
The Michaels Organization Educational Foundation has awarded its latest annual round of scholarships for residents of its the Michaels Organization housing.
By Dees Stribling, Contributing Editor
Marlton, N.J.—The Michaels Organization Educational Foundation has awarded its latest annual round of scholarships for residents of its the Michaels Organization housing. The round, which is for the 2015-16 academic year, totals more than 200 college scholarships worth about $575,000, and is the most the foundation has ever paid out in a single year.
Created in the early 1990s by Michaels Organization founder and CEO Michael Levitt, the goal of the awards is to support the educational ambitions of high-achieving but often economically disadvantaged students. Including the latest awards, the total amount of the scholarships over the past 25 years is more than $4.6 million.
Every year, residents of the company’s affordable, mixed-income, or military housing are invited to apply. The funds are paid directly to the educational institution, and students may re-apply each year. Michael Levitt and his wife Pat Levitt kick in $2 for every $1 raised in private donations for the foundation.
The spectrum of recipients is wide. Last year, for instance, a brother and sister whose parents fled the Afghan civil war, a disabled Vietnam Veteran, and an honor student athlete who aspired to be a doctor were among 184 residents who have been awarded scholarships foundation.
The Michaels Organization currently has nearly 45,000 multifamily units under management, with about 100,000 residents. That includes seven military bases on which the company is developing or managing housing.
