This is the press release for our autism scholarship program for 2014. If you would like us to email you a copy of this to share with others please feel free to email us at KFMMakingADifference@gmail.com!

“KFM Making a Difference”, an organization focused on housing and disability advocacy, after the recent success of their scholarship program have announced their follow up autism scholarship for 2014.

CEO and Founder of KFM Making a Difference, Kerry Magro, holds this scholarship very dear to his heart. Kerry was diagnosed with autism at the age of 4. Now at 25, he is a Masters graduate from Seton Hall University in Strategic Communications and Leadership. Along with being a full-time student, Kerry is also a national motivational speaker discussing a wide range of topics; discussing everything from overcoming obstacles to disability advocacy. In the autism community, Kerry holds positions as columnist for Autism After 16 and as a consultant/life coach for individuals with autism.

Kerry remembers how difficult it was transitioning into college and how little support their seemed to be for individuals with autism. “I can only remember three scholarships for students with autism”, Kerry said. “Then you would look at the thousands of other scholarships out there for athletes, science/math students and others.  It was upsetting, especially when many learning disabled individuals need to pay out of pocket for accommodations. It was at that moment I realized I had to get involved and try and make a difference for our community. 1 in 88 individuals are now being diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder’s and many of those individuals will have dreams of college so we need to be prepared and help support.”

For this reason, a $500 scholarship will be awarded to an individual with autism. This is our 6th scholarship we’ve given out with our inaugural scholarship, which opened up in September 2012. It will be applied towards the pursuit of a post-secondary education for the 2014-2015 academic school year. (Note: High School Graduates who will be attending a post-secondary program in Fall 2014 are allowed to apply for this scholarship as long as they fill out the requirements below!)

All scholarship applications need to be emailed to KFMMakingADifference@gmail.com, with all of the requirements listed below by no later than Wednesday, April 30th at Midnight U.S. Eastern Standard Time.

Our Scholarship Review Committee will then come together and select the winner of the scholarship. The winners of these scholarships will be at the complete discretion of the committee based on the applications that we receive. The winner of the scholarship will receive an email by the end of the year notifying them if they have won. The winner will then be announced via our website (Kerrymagro.com) at the beginning of June 2014.

 Requirements for Application

To be in consideration for the scholarship please review the requirements below. (Note: Each part (the 4 parts below) should be sent as its own attachment so in total you should have 4 attachments sent in your one email)

Part 1: Cover Letter That Includes

o   A Short Bio (250 words or less).

o   Postsecondary Program Accepted in or Attending (I.E College, Community College, Vocational Program, etc.)

o   Autism Diagnosis (I.E Aspergers, PDD-NOS, ASD, etc. Age you were officially diagnosed)

o   Full Name

o   Address

o   Phone Number

o   Email

Part 2: Resume

Part 3: Letter of Reference (Included in the letter of reference should be a contact number and/or email which can be provided for any follow up questions which the Scholarship Committee may have)

Part 4: Short Answer and Essay

Short Answer (250 words or less): What does the term “Making a Difference” mean to you in your life?

Personal Essay (1000 words or less): Why do you think you deserve to win this scholarship? Also in your response please discuss your plans for the future including how this scholarship will benefit in your education.

Best of luck! For any follow up questions/comments please feel free to contact us via email at KFMMakingADifference@gmail.com or like our Facebook page and message us at https://www.facebook.com/KfmMakingADifference.

(Note: If you do not receive a return receipt email after sending in your application within 72 hours please contact us at our Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/KfmMakingADifference)

Private Policy Notice: No application information collected will be shared with anyone outside our Scholarship Review Committee without written consent from those individuals. We also guarantee that all information collected will only be used for reference in our decision making for our scholarship winner. If selected as the winner of our scholarship we will ask ahead of time for permission to publish your winning application via our website.