With the costs of tuition on the rise, the need for financial assistance for college students is more important than ever before. West Virginia University alumni and friends understand the importance of assisting future students and are committed to making the dream of attending WVU a reality.

The Southern New Jersey Chapter of the WVU Alumni Association is one such group to offer students resources to students. The chapter recently made a pledge to establish a $25,000 scholarship for students from Southern New Jersey who want to attend WVU.

“With the amount of students coming out of Southern New Jersey, there were no real scholarships for them at WVU. We were so excited to take on this important initiative and give students additional resources to help them achieve their dreams at the university we love,” said chapter president and alumnus Ed McMahon.

The Southern New Jersey Alumni Chapter and Southern New Jersey Mountaineer Parents Club donated the first $5,000 toward the endowed scholarship. The Chapter hopes to fully fund the scholarship by February 2019.

The scholarships are available to non-resident WVU students who reside in the following counties in Southern New Jersey: Atlantic, Burlington, Camden, Cape May, Cumberland, Gloucester, and Salem. Recipients are determined by the WVU Office of Student Financial Aid and awarded in the name of the Southern New Jersey Alumni Chapter Scholarship. Each year the Chapter will award at least one $1,000 scholarship to a deserving student.

McMahon added, “We started running buses back in 2011 through the parents club to transport students between Southern New Jersey and WVU on fall, winter, and spring breaks. Since 2011, this service has greatly expanded and allowed us to raise a lot of our funds for the scholarship through it. Our hope is to grow the scholarship program and exceed our $25,000 commitment.”

For the 2014-15 academic year, the chapter awarded five inaugural scholarships totaling $5,000. The Chapter hopes to grow the endowment and provide additional scholarships to Southern New Jersey students.

The Southern New Jersey Chapter is just one of many alumni chapters raising money for scholarships for WVU students. Additionally, chapters focus on giving back to their community by volunteering with local organizations, assisting with student recruitment through the Old Gold, New Blue program, coordinating social functions and providing mentoring/career networking opportunities for alumni and students.

The $25,000 gift was made in conjunction with A State of Minds: The Campaign for West Virginia’s University. The $1 billion comprehensive campaign being conducted by the WVU Foundation on behalf of the University runs through December 2017. For more information about WVU Alumni Association giving opportunities, contact Nicole Riggleman at 304-293-4731.

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CONTACT: Tara Curtis, WVU Alumni Association
304.293.0972. tecurtis@mail.wvu.edu

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