Three U.S. College Students Awarded $1,500 #CaringScholar Grants

SAN MATEO, CA; January 28, 2016 — Caring.com, a leading senior care resource for family caregivers, is pleased to announce today the winners of its financial aid scholarship for students attending an accredited U.S. university or college while also caring for an aging or ailing loved one.

The #CaringScholar program was first launched in March 2015 and was such a success that Caring.com opened up a second round of #CaringScholars grants, with a deadline of December 31st. The Caring.com Student Caregiver Scholarship award provides three (3) university students in the United States with a $1,500 grant each for tuition and/or books, based on the applicant’s compelling 1,500-word essay or two-minute video story submission. These three winners were chosen from among more than 1,400 applications and 25 finalists:

  • Octavia Monsanto — a student at Kennesaw State University in Kennesaw, Georgia who is majoring in music and caring for her mother
  • Samantha Vega — a student at Whittier College in Whittier, California who is majoring in political science and caring for her grandmother
  • Ed Makowski — a student at University of Wisconsin Milwaukee who is majoring in journalism and caring for his brother

“Congratulations to our three winners, who are outstanding examples of the thousands of students who are juggling the challenges of caregiving while also pursuing a degree,” said Caring.com CEO Andy Cohen, who co-founded the caregiving website in 2007 after being a caregiver to his mother.

Cohen was on the panel of caregiving experts who selected the winners. Other #CaringScholar judges included:

  • Brooks Kenny — a senior consultant at High Lantern Group. In this role, she currently supports the women’s network of UsAgainstAlzheimer’s. Most recently, she was on the founding team and Executive Vice President of Lotsa Helping Hands. Brooks is a nationally recognized subject matter expert in caregiving
  • Sherri Snelling — CEO and founder of The Caregiving Club, executive director of Thought Leadership for Keck Medicine of the University of Southern California (USC), and a caregiving author
  • C Grace Whiting, J.D. — director of strategic partnerships at the National Alliance for Caregiving, communications professional, and licensed attorney

“We are moved and inspired by the many stories we heard from students who are caring for loved ones on top of part-time jobs and challenging academic programs. We appreciate the universities and colleges who helped get the word out to students on their campuses, and the expert judges who reviewed the scholarship submissions,” Cohen said.

Caring.com has announced a third round of grants for May 2016. The deadline to apply is May 31, 2016 (11:59 p.m. PDT). For more information about the Caring.com Student Caregiver Scholarship, please visit https://www.caring.com/scholarship.