Oct. 28: Help Our Heroes Luncheon benefiting the Army Scholarship Foundation

Q & A as published in The Park Cities News, a media sponsor:

Colonel (U.S. Army, Ret) Jeff Gault and Deputy Assistant Secretary Air Force (Ret) Rose Gault are chairing the Help Our Heroes Luncheon benefiting the Army Scholarship Foundation on Friday, October 28 at the Brook Hollow Golf Club. This is the second year for this luncheon which raises crucial funds for the foundation and assists military families in achieving their educational goals. The following Q & A with Jeff Gault sheds light on particulars about the foundation and its mission.

 

(Featured photo from 2015 luncheon: Jeff Gault, US Army, Retired and CEO of the Army Scholarship Foundation and his wife, Rose, luncheon chairs. US Army Private First Class Marty Nance and his wife, Samantha, a 2015 Fluor Honorary Scholarship recipient. Photo by Dana Driensky.)

Q: What is the Army Scholarship Foundation?

A: Founded in 2001, the Army Scholarship Foundation provides academic scholarships to the sons and daughters of US Army soldiers, and to spouses of active duty enlisted soldiers. The Foundation is an IRS approved 501c (3) nonprofit, so donations are tax deductible.  The Foundation is unique in that it is an “All Volunteer” organization, with no paid employees or staff.  All of our volunteers serve with a desire to help our military families as a small way of expressing the gratitude of our nation for our service members and the sacrifices that their families make on our behalf.

 

Q: Who does the Foundation benefit? 

 

Army families serve too; they sacrifice so much while supporting their U.S. Army soldier.  By providing college level scholarships to Army family members, we all say “Thank You” for the sacrifices your family has made while serving our Nation.  Army family members face particular hardships in pursuing their educational dreams.  They make frequent moves, forcing students to meet new standards and graduation requirements, have reduced employment opportunities for spouses due to frequently changing jobs and starting over, and finally, they endure the stress and fear of extended family separations while their soldier family members are deployed, often in combat and in harm’s way.

 

One of our 2015 scholarship recipients, Samantha Nance, is an example of the families we help, and all that they go through in pursuing their education.  Samantha is the spouse of Private First Class Marty Nance, stationed at Fort Sill, OK.  Samantha lives in Ft Worth, and was a senior studying with a full schedule at Texas Woman’s University in Denton.  She was only able to see Marty on weekends or special holidays.  At the same time, she was raising their two small children, both under the age of 10, and working a full time job in Denton.  With the help of the Army Scholarship Foundation, she was able to graduate recently and secure a new position to fully use her new TWU degree.

 

Q:  Why the Army Scholarship Foundation?

 

Army families receive no benefits or special assistance in pursuing higher education.  We as Americans are obligated to thank our Nation’s Army families for the sacrifices soldiers make every day to serve their nation by helping their spouses and children to become successful and productive members of society.  Every year, applications we receive significantly outnumber available funds for scholarships; therefore the Army Scholarship Foundation needs to increase its available funds and fundraising activities to assist these deserving Army family members.

 

Q: How can I participate if I cannot attend the luncheon?

 

Donations for Army families can be made at any time.  All donations to the Army Scholarship Foundation are fully tax deductible to the extent allowed by law.  You may send a tax deductible donation by check to the Army Scholarship Foundation, 11700 Preston Road, Ste 660-301, Dallas, TX 75230, or donations can be made on line at http://www.armyscholarshipfoundation.org/ .  Individuals or families may make donations in memory of friends or loved ones; all such donations are acknowledged and annotated at the In Memoriam page of our web site.  Families or groups may also establish a named scholarship in memory of a loved one or an organization.  For details, please contact us via the web site with any questions.  Please consider helping an Army family today.

 

 

At the luncheon, introductory remarks will be provided by Lieutenant General Jay Garner, US Army retired, former Assistant Chief of Staff of the US Army, and Director of the Office for Reconstruction and Humanitarian Assistance for Iraq. The speaker is General Gordon R. Sullivan, US Army, Retired, former Chief of Staff, U.S. Army and former member Joint Chiefs of Staff.

Tickets are $150 each. Sponsor and Underwriter benefits include preferred seating, special program visibility, Patron Party invitations and more. Media sponsor is The Park Cities News/The Waters Family.  For more information contact Jeff Gault, Email: Jeff.gault@armyscholarshipfoundation.org or phone 703-587-5181. Visit the website:    http://www.armyscholarshipfoundation.org

 

 

Mission Statement:  The mission of the Foundation is to provide college scholarships to the sons and daughters of those who have served our nation honorably as soldiers in the United States Army and to provide college scholarships to spouses of enlisted soldiers serving on active duty in the United States Army.

 

History: In the year 2000, a handful of U.S. Army veterans joined together to develop plans for establishing a foundation to assist the needy sons and daughters of soldiers and Army veterans in achieving their dreams of higher education. It was the vision of these Army veterans that the Foundation would grow and be able to benefit an ever increasing number of deserving children of soldiers.

 

Following the events of 9/11, the Foundation took on a new meaning for its founders and volunteers.  They established a scholarship in memory of a fellow soldier, Captain Jennifer Shafer-Odom who was killed during the war on drugs in Columbia, and additional scholarships were soon established in memory of those fallen in Iraq and Afghanistan.

 

In 2001, the Internal Revenue Service recognized the Foundation as a 501(c)(3) non-profit, making all donations to the Foundation fully tax deductible to the extent allowed by federal law.  In order to recognize the sacrifices of the spouses of serving enlisted soldiers, in 2006 the Board opened eligibility for scholarships to such spouses as well.

 

In 2016, the Army Scholarship Foundation awarded a record 103 scholarships to deserving Army family members in pursuit their educational dreams.  Since 2001, the Foundation has awarded more than 300 scholarships averaging approximately $1,000 each.  Unfortunately, many highly qualified applicants do not receive awards due to lack of funding.

 

The Army Scholarship Foundation continues today as an all-volunteer organization, run by caring individuals seeking to assist Army family members in their educational pursuits as a small way of saying “thank you” for the many sacrifices made by Army families.

(Sharon Adams, Adams Communications Public Relations represents The Army Scholarship Foundation.)