This year, the Public Education Foundation (PEF) shattered previous years’ records and awarded $5 million in scholarships to high school seniors and current college students through the Scholarships Plus program.
In addition to distributing the largest amount of scholarship funds in its history this year, PEF has set a record in the number of student recipients and scholarships with over 900 scholarships awarded to more than 700 students. PEF has awarded nearly $27 million in scholarships to approximately 8,000 students since 1995.
This incredible milestone was made possible in part through an inaugural grant from the Charles and Phyllis M. Frias Charitable Trust, which donated $720,000 to create nine new $80,000 scholarships for students who, in spite of facing significant challenges outside of their control, are committed to pursuing their dreams of attending college.
Students selected to receive the Charles and Phyllis Frias Legacy Scholarship were notified with several surprise visits at schools from PEF staff and the trustees of the Frias Charitable Trust, including one very special visit to Desert Pines High School.