FEBRUARY 10, 2023 – The Feb. 15 deadline to apply to the Scholarships for Military Children program, administered by the nonprofit Fisher House Foundation, is almost here.
A total of 500 scholarship grants, each for $2,000, will be awarded for the 2023-24 school year with at least one recipient selected at every commissary location where qualified applications are received. Additional recipients will be selected based on a prorated basis, so more applicants will be selected from those commissaries with larger numbers of applicants.
Now in its 23rd year, the Scholarships for Military Children Program, through the generosity of DeCA vendors and others, has awarded more than $22 million to 12,812 students, selected from a pool of nearly 113,000 applicants.
The program was created in 2001 to recognize the contributions of military families to the readiness of the fighting force, and to celebrate the role of the commissary in the military family community. It is open to sons and daughters of active duty, reserve/guard, or retired military commissary customers.
“Fisher House Foundation’s Scholarships for Military Children program is set to continue for another successful year. Through their efforts and generosity the Foundation guarantees continued educational growth and opportunities for the children of our military service members,” said Todd Heasley, the Defense Commissary Agency’s military scholarships program liaison.
Eligibility for the program is determined using the Defense Enrollment Eligibility Reporting System (DEERS) database. Applicants should ensure that they, as well as their sponsor, are enrolled in the DEERS database and have a current military dependent ID card. The applicant must also be planning to attend or already be attending an accredited college or university full time, or be enrolled in a program of studies designed to transfer directly into a four-year program.
Applicants who are awarded a full scholarship to attend a college or university or receive an appointment to one of the service academies or affiliated preparatory schools are not eligible to receive funds from this program. A full scholarship is usually defined as one that provides for payment of tuition, books, lab fees and other expenses.
All rules and requirements for the program, as well as links to frequently asked questions and the application itself, are available at Fisher House’s Scholarships for Military Children web page.
Fisher House also hosts a custom scholarship search engine on its web site, tailored to military families, called “Scholarships for Service.” It’s free, easy to use, and formatted for both mobile devices and computers at MilitaryScholar.org.
The Scholarships for Military Children program is managed by Scholarship Managers, a national, nonprofit organization. If students have questions about the scholarship program application, they should call Scholarship Managers at 856-616-9311 or email them at militaryscholar@scholarshipmanagers.com.
No government funds are used to support the Scholarships for Military Children Program. Commissary vendors, manufacturers, brokers, suppliers and the general public donate money to fund the program.
About DeCA:
The Defense Commissary Agency operates a worldwide chain of commissaries providing groceries to military personnel, retirees and their families in a safe and secure shopping environment. Commissaries provide a military benefit, saving authorized patrons thousands of dollars annually on their purchases compared to similar products at commercial retailers. The discounted prices include a 5-percent surcharge, which covers the costs of building new commissaries and modernizing existing ones. A core military family support element, and a valued part of military pay and benefits, commissaries contribute to family readiness, enhance the quality of life for America’s military and their families, and help recruit and retain the best and brightest men and women to serve their country.
By Mike Perron, DeCA public affairs specialist