TheDream.US announced today the opening of applications for two scholarship programs available for DREAMers in need of financial assistance for college. In the wake of the presidential election of Donald Trump, the organization asserted that undocumented immigrant youth and their families need support more than ever before.
“We remain steadfast in our belief that nothing should stand in the way of a DREAMer getting a college education—not the cost, immigration status or the lack of financial aid,” said Candy Marshall, president of TheDream.US.
The scholarships help young immigrants attend both four-year colleges and two-year community colleges. In addition, they open opportunities for those whose home states bar them from attending state schools by charging out-of-state tuition or refusing to admit them to top universities.
Complete details and applications are available online at www.TheDream.US.
“Education is an American value. We should help every student who has worked hard,” said Donald Graham, former chairman of The Washington Post and co-founder of TheDream.US. “DREAMers deserve the opportunity to get a college education.”
“Our Scholars are highly motivated students who want nothing more than to get a college education and lift the social and economic prosperity of themselves, their families, and our nation—all at a time when we face a shortage of college-educated workers,” said Candy Marshall, president of TheDream.US.
DREAMers are immigrant youth without documentation. These scholarships support DREAMers who hold DACA (Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals) or TPS (Temporary Protected Status) status. Both exempt DREAMers from deportation and give them the ability to work legally.
While Although the DACA program may be at risk under a Trump’s administration, TheDREAM.US is moving forward with its programs and hopes to award at least 1,000 scholarships to DREAMers with DACA in spring 2017.
TheDream.US’s $90-million National Scholarship program provides up to $25,000 for DREAMers at more than 75 partner colleges in Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Illinois, Nevada, New Jersey, New York, Oregon, Tennessee, Texas and Washington, D.C. Students must be eligible for in-state tuition (if applying to a public college) to participate. The National Scholarship also offers an online option.
TheDream.US’s $40-million Opportunity Scholarship program is aimed at DREAMers who reside in “locked-out” states—that is, states that charge DREAMers out-out-state tuition or bar them from attending state colleges and universities altogether. The scholarship provides up to $80,000 to attend Christian Brothers University in Tennessee, Delaware State University, Eastern Connecticut State University, Trinity Washington University women’s college in Washington, D.C., or Western Oregon University.
The targeted locked-out states include: Alaska, Arkansas, Georgia, Idaho, Iowa, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, North Carolina, North Dakota, South Carolina, South Dakota, West Virginia and Wisconsin.
“When we help DREAMers achieve their educational goals, we help fulfill our potential as a nation. I know this from personal experience,” said Maria Gabriela Pacheco, program director for TheDream.US. Pacheco is a DREAMer herself, and in 2013 became the first undocumented Latina to testify before Congress.
“Our Scholars are committed to making the world a better place. Both in and after college, they are actively engaged in building stronger and healthier communities.” Pacheco said.
Since launching in 2014, TheDream.US has provided scholarships to over 1,700 students.
TheDream.US has received funding from a variety of donors who share the belief that DREAMers deserve the opportunity to get a college education, including former Washington Post chairman Donald Graham and investigative journalist Amanda Bennett (both co-founders), the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, the Pershing Square Foundation, Bloomberg Philanthropies, Mark Zuckerberg and Priscilla Chan, and Pierre and Pam Omidyar and others.
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