MEDIA RELEASE PR38723
President Obama Donates US$125,000 of Nobel Prize Money to American Indian College Fund
DENVER, Mar. 12 /PRNewswire-AsiaNet/ --
President Obama announced today that he will donate US$125,000 of his
US$1.4 million Nobel Peace Prize monies to the American Indian College Fund
(the Fund). In a statement issued by the White House, Obama said of the Fund
and nine other charity organizations that received donations from the
president, "These organizations do extraordinary work in the United States
and abroad helping students, veterans and countless others in need. I'm proud
to support their work."
"We are thrilled that President Obama has chosen to publicly acknowledge
the work the American Indian College Fund is doing in Indian Country by
sharing US$125,000 of his prestigious Nobel Peace Prize award with us," said
Richard B. Williams, President and CEO of the American Indian College Fund.
"As a result of President Obama's vision and leadership, through his donation
to the Fund along with nine other outstanding charities, he is setting an
example for how all Americans can help those less fortunate. The gift will be
used to support Native scholarships at America's 33 accredited tribal
colleges and universities."
According to the White House Statement, these charities include Fisher
House, which provides housing for families of patients receiving medical care
at major military and VA medical centers; the Clinton-Bush Haiti Fund, which
raises money for long-term relief efforts in Haiti after its earthquake;
College Summit, which partners with elementary and middle schools and school
districts to increase college enrollment and student preparation; the Posse
Foundation, a scholarship organization which identifies public high school
students with academic and leadership potential who may be overlooked by
traditional college selection processes; the United Negro College Fund, which
helps 60,000 students yearly to attend college through scholarship and
internship programs; the Hispanic Scholarship Fund, the nation's leading
Hispanic scholarship organization; the Appalachian Leadership and Education
Foundation, which supports and enables young Appalachians to pursue higher
education though scholarship and leadership curriculum; AfriCare, which
supports health and HIV/AIDS, food security and agriculture, and water
resource development projects in 25 countries; and the Central Asia
Institute, which promotes and supports community-based education and
literacy, especially for girls, in remote regions of Pakistan and
Afghanistan.
About the American Indian College Fund
With its credo "Educating the Mind and Spirit," the American Indian
College Fund is the nation's largest provider of private scholarships for
American Indian students, providing an average of 6,000 scholarships annually
for students seeking to better their lives and communities through education
and support to the nation's 33 accredited tribal colleges and universities.
For more information about the American Indian College Fund, please visit
SOURCE: American Indian College Fund
CONTACT: Dina Horwedel, Director, Public Education
+1-303-430-5350 (direct)
or +1-720-394-8073 (cell)
dhorwedel@collegefund.org
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