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Melania Trump Announces $7.2M Scholarships for Former Foster Care Students at LSU
· Confirmed
In Short: First Lady Melania Trump announced a $7.2 million endowment for scholarships at LSU for students who were once in foster care.
Melania Trump (Wikidata P18).
Melania Trump announces $7.2M LSU scholarship fund for students who were in foster care. WWLTV
First Lady Melania Trump announced a $7.2 million endowment for scholarships at Louisiana State University (LSU) for students who were once in foster care. The funds will provide approximately $200,000 annually in scholarships, with eligibility extended to students whose prior-year household income is no more than 300% of the area’s median gross income, adjusted for family size.
The initiative, known as Fostering the Future, aims to expand educational and career opportunities for young people who have been in foster care. According to the National Foster Youth Institute, only 3% of former foster youth earn a college degree.
During her visit to LSU, Trump recognized 14 Fostering the Future scholars at the university and nine currently studying at the University of Alabama. She noted that 26 universities across the country are supporting 100 Fostering the Future students this semester.
The first lady started working on foster care issues after President Donald Trump’s first term ended in 2021. She launched Fostering the Future in 2021 to provide educational and career opportunities for young people who have been in foster care.
The initiative aligns with legislation pending in the Senate, which would address challenges identified by stakeholders, witnesses, and youth in foster care.
The first lady’s efforts include an executive order signed by President Donald Trump in 2021, linking the federal government, colleges and universities, the private sector, and charitable groups to create educational and employment opportunities for those in foster care.
What this adds
The donation will cover room and board for the students, providing a more comprehensive support system.
What's confirmed
- Melania Trump has announced that Louisiana State University has raised $7.2 million to endow scholarships for students who were once in foster care.
- The first lady started working on foster care issues after President Donald Trump’s first term ended in 2021.
- First lady Melania Trump speaks during a meeting with Russian and Ukrainian representatives in the Grand Foyer of the White House, Thursday, Nov.
- First Lady Melania Trump waves to the crowd in the first half of an NCAA college football game between LSU and Alabama, Saturday, Nov.
- First lady Melania Trump gestures as she departs for Louisiana, Saturday, Nov.
- The first lady launched Fostering the Future in 2021 to expand educational and career opportunities for young people who have been in foster care.
- Trump and LSU secured more than $7 million in private donations to create an endowment fund for the scholarships, the White House said.
- The scholarships will be awarded through her “Fostering the Future” program.
- "A great education does more than prepare someone for work life. It gives something no one can ever take away. There is nothing more powerful we can give a young person than a world-class education," said First Lady Melania Trump.
- The foster care program will be featured across the LSU campus in Baton Rouge as well as on the field at Tiger Stadium just before kickoff, the White House said.
- In April, Trump urged Congress to expand support for people in foster care, calling new legislation "a moral imperative."
- There are 14 scholars under the program at LSU and nine at Alabama, she said, part of a group of 100 students supported across 26 schools this semester.
What's still developing
- Chafee Program for Successful Transition to Adulthood, the nation’s primary program dedicated to supporting youth from ages 14 to 23 who are transitioning out of foster care.
- The $7.2 million in private donations will fund a permanent endowment for the scholarships, speakers said.
- “While most eyes will be on the athletes, I encourage you to recognize LSU’s Fostering the Future scholars who are just as remarkable,” Trump said.
- Contributions to the Horizons of Hope Foundation will directly fund scholarships for eligible K-12 students to attend Catholic schools within the Diocese of Palm Beach.
- Following a record expansion of state school choice programs in 2023, the National Catholic Educational Association found that more than 1 in 10 Catholic school students used school choice programs to help them attend Catholic school in the 2023-2024 school year.
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- Instead, the endowment is intended to help eligible students for generations to come.
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