The Scholarship That Didn’t Come

 FHAF was contacted by *Josh whose father Casey was killed in action September 2005. Jamie’s family has military roots going back on both sides of his family. In fact his godfather was KIA on the same date, 9/26 as his father some years earlier. Josh shared that because his family was struggling financially, he had recently made the decision to move out of the family home.  

Josh communicated he was 20 years old and a double major (junior) at Indiana University of Pennsylvania, that he was saving his survivor education benefit for graduate school. He shared that normally another veterans organization was providing scholarship money to get him over-the-hump at school, but because his college did not get back to the veterans organization with needed paperwork the window for receiving a scholarship had passed.

By the time Josh contacted FHAF it was literally days prior to school starting. Though FHAF generally does not grant individual scholarships, our advisory board felt Josh, through not fault of his own, would be left “out in the cold.” Thus the FHAF Advisory Board met and felt that the long military family history and having two family members paying the ultimate price was worthy of an exception to our policy.  Within a day or two of school starting FHAF sent his school the needed funds.
*not his real name
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Notes of Gratitude

"When I was told I was awarded with this scholarship my heart dropped, and I began to get teary eyed. My dreams are slowly starting to become more and more of a reality. So, thank you to the supporters, and anyone who has contributed to Gifts of Gratitude. God Bless."
JH (father, Casey KIA)