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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
June 20, 2024
Contact:?Ron Leix, Treasury, 517-335-2167
?More Than 265 Attend 12th Annual Scholarship Fundraiser?
LANSING, Mich. ? The roughly 265 people who attended the Michigan Education Trust's 12th annual Pizza Party on the Michigan State Capitol Lawn got their fill of pizza and helped fill the Fostering Futures Scholarship Trust Fund, which awards scholarships to students enrolled in Michigan college and universities who have experienced foster care.
The $10,061 raised at the Tuesday, June 18, pizza party fundraiser will help make the dream of a college education a reality for students who otherwise might lack resources to pursue higher education when they age out of the foster care system.
For a minimum donation of $10, attendees received a slice of pizza, dessert and a drink.
This year, the Michigan Department of Treasury?s Black History Committee partnered with the Fostering Futures Scholarship to hold a celebration in honor of Juneteenth.
Students who receive this scholarship can use the money for tuition, housing, books and other college expenses. Funds raised through the?Fostering Futures Scholarship Trust Fund?provide scholarships to young adults who have experienced foster care and are enrolled at a Michigan degree-granting college or university. Awards are paid to the students? college or university for expenses.
More than 10,000 youth are in the Michigan foster care system run by Michigan Department of Health and Human Services. Fewer than 10% of former foster youth nationally enroll in school after high school and fewer than 3% eventually earn a degree.
In addition, over 100 pillows were collected during the pizza party for The Pillow Effect, a Michigan Youth Opportunities Initiative (MYOI) project. ?Because children entering foster care often don?t have their essential personal items with them, The Pillow Effect provides pillows to foster care youth in Berrien, Calhoun, Clinton/Eaton, Ingham, Ionia/Montcalm, Jackson, Livingston and Macomb counties.
The Pizza Party on the Capitol Lawn is sponsored by Hungry Howie?s, Park West Foundation, Michigan Student Financial Aid Association, Michigan College Access Network, LAFCU, G?d Marketing, the Michigan Association of Broadcasters, WLNS-TV 6, CATALIS and MSU Federal Credit Union and supported by partnerships with the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services, Treasury Black History Committee and Michigan Youth Opportunities Initiative.
Couldn?t attend and want to make a different?
Donate or register online using a credit card?or to make a donation?by check, complete and submit the?Fostering Futures Scholarship Contribution Form?along with a check made payable to the State of Michigan?Fostering Futures Scholarship.?
Contributions made by Dec. 31 are eligible for a tax deduction on your federal and state income tax form in the year they are made. As an IRC Section 170(c) organization, all donations to MET?s Fostering Futures?Scholarship Trust Fund?are tax deductible.
To learn more about the Fostering Futures Scholarship Trust Fund or to donate, go to?www.michigan.gov/fosteringfutures.
About MET
Administered by the Michigan Department of Treasury, MET is the state's Section 529 prepaid tuition program, which allows for the purchase of future college tuition credits based on today's rates. MET, Michigan Education Savings Program (MESP) and MI 529 Advisor Plan (MAP), Michigan's three Section 529 college savings programs, offer Michigan taxpayers a state income tax deduction on contributions and potential tax-free growth on earnings if account proceeds are used to pay for qualified higher education expenses.
More information about MET is available at?www.michigan.gov/setwithmet?or 800-MET-4-KID (800-638-4543).
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