NEW YORK, Aug. 1, 2005 (PRIMEZONE) -- Private education became possible on Wednesday, July 27th, for 73 Tri-State high school bound students who received four-year scholarships from the Columbus Citizens Foundation. The awards ceremony was held at St. Ignatius Loyola School in Manhattan.
Addressing the recipients and their families, Lawrence Auriana, president of the Columbus Citizens Foundation, said, "Our Foundation is an organization of approximately 525 Italian-Americans who are proud of their heritage and culture and who believe that education is the single best way to advance our community. We are very proud of our scholarship recipients. In interviewing them, we found that they were warm, hardworking, optimistic and family oriented."
Sixty of the recipients are from New York (The Bronx: 6; Brooklyn: 22; Queens: 18; Staten Island: 8; Upstate: 4; Long Island: 2); 12 are from New Jersey (the counties of Bergen: 7; Essex: 1; Hudson: 3; and Monmouth: 1), and one is from Connecticut.
The scholarship awards ceremony was the third in a series this summer in which the Foundation awarded multi-year grants to Italian-American students from the elementary school level through college. This summer, the Foundation awarded new, multi-year scholarships in the amount of $2.4 million to 224 students. In 2005, the Foundation will provide scholarship assistance totaling $2.1 million to 608 students attending elementary school, high school and college.
Each of the Foundation's scholarship programs is open to young men and women of Italian descent whose families are able to demonstrate financial need. High school and college students must also be able to document academic achievement and service to their communities.
Applications for the 2006-2007 academic year will be available on the Foundation's Website (www.columbuscitizensfd.org) in November 2005.
The Columbus Citizens Foundation, best known for organizing New York City's Columbus Day Parade, supports cultural and educational programs, including grants and scholarships for elementary school, high school and college students.
Group photos and demographic details available on request