Scholarship Opportunity Empowers Youth to Help Break Gun Violence

Press release from Farah & Farah:

June 8, 2021

TAMPA, Fla. – Leading Florida law firm Farah & Farah today proudly announced that it has begun accepting applications for its 2nd Annual Empowering Greatness Scholarship Program. The firm established the scholarship program last year, inspired by the rich and enduring legacy of the late Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. The scholarship program recognizes deserving students in low-income, high-crime neighborhoods who are committed to breaking the cycle of poverty and gun violence through the pursuit of higher education.

The firm will award five rising high school seniors across Florida with a 2-Year Florida College Plan Scholarship available through a dollar-for-dollar match with the Florida Prepaid College Foundation. The plan prepays tuition, registration fees and local fees for 60 lower division semester credit hours at any of the 28 Florida Colleges. This is also in partnership with Goodwill Industries of North Florida, Inc. who will process and vet all scholarship applications. A scholarship committee comprised of a diverse panel of community judges and Farah & Farah employees will review and score all applications.

“This scholarship program emphasizes the important role that community service plays in helping students develop a lifelong commitment to civic and social responsibility,” said Eddie Farah, Founding Partner of Farah & Farah. “By empowering these students to pursue their education, we also empower them to be active members of their community and help others.”

Farah & Farah’s Empowering Greatness Scholarship is part of the firm’s dedicated effort to continue to strengthen education by recognizing exceptional students for their outstanding community service and dedication to bettering their neighborhoods.

“With National Gun Violence Awareness Day approaching on June 4, and the continued rise of gun violence in Tampa and across Florida, it is more important now than ever to invest in our future,” said Chuck Farah, Senior Partner of Farah & Farah. “Giving students the opportunity to get a quality education lowers the risk they’ll get involved with crime and gives them a brighter future.”

In 2020, Farah & Farah awarded scholarships to 20 deserving high school seniors and undergraduate students, providing each with $5,000 for college tuition. This year, the firm is going the extra mile and giving back even more by committing to fully prepay tuition and fees for five deserving students. The firm hopes hundreds of hardworking rising high school seniors will apply for the scholarship. Applicants will be judged by a diverse panel of judges, each of whom has made a difference in their communities.

This year’s Empowering Greatness Scholarship judges are:

• Rep. Anna Eskamani, Florida House of Representatives — District 47 (Orlando)
• T-Neisha Tate, Jacksonville Jaguars Vice President of Social Responsibility and Impact (Jacksonville)
• Angela Pruitt, Chief Human Resource Officer, Lee County Schools (Fort Myers)
• Carlos Valdes, AMIKids Tampa Executive Director (Tampa)
• Stewart Moore, WESH 2 News Anchor (Orlando)
• Sarah Louis, 2020 Empowering Greatness Scholarship Winner, University of Florida student

The Empowering Greatness Scholarship Program is conducted in partnership with The Florida Prepaid College Foundation’s Project STARS and Goodwill Industries of North Florida. The STARS program helps low-income students at risk of dropping out of high school create a pathway to success through mentoring and the promise of a college scholarship.

“Goodwill understands the power of education in breaking the cycle of poverty. The opportunity for an education elevates not only the individual but the entire family,” said Leah Lynch, Chief Mission Officer for Goodwill Industries of North Florida. “Goodwill is pleased to partner with Farah & Farah and the Florida Prepaid College Foundation to provide college scholarships to deserving high school students.”

To be eligible for an Empowering Greatness Scholarship, students must attend a public or charter school in the Jacksonville, Fort Myers, Ocala, Tampa, Gainesville, or Orlando areas. The application portal will be open until September 10 and the scholarship winners will be announced on October 15.

For more information or to apply, visit farahandfarah.com/scholarship

This press release was produced by Farah & Farah. The views expressed here are the author’s own.