FRAMINGHAM, Mass. -- Cumberland Farms has announced that more than 1,000 students from the high school class of 2013 have applied to win the convenience retailer's Believe & Achieve scholarships. The program's deadline was Dec. 15, 2012.
The retailer's scholarship program began six years ago and has awarded nearly $800,000 in financial assistance to hundreds of college-bound high school students.
The company is reviewing the applications for 2013 scholarships individually to determine whether they meet the eligibility guidelines that include living within a 30-mile radius of a Cumberland Farms store, showing financial need and exhibiting outstanding academic performance throughout high school.
It will select finalists in the competitive selection process by mid January, and it will announce 130 winners in spring 2013.
The program provides $1,000 scholarships to eligible graduating high school seniors across the Cumberland Farms service area, which includes the Northeast and Florida. The company will award Believe & Achieve scholarships to 130 students across these regions, totaling $130,000. Believe & Achieve is open to students entering a full-time undergraduate course of study at an accredited college, university or vocational-technical school. Past recipients have gone on to study at such prestigious institutions as Brown University, Harvard College, Syracuse University and College of the Holy Cross, among many others.
"We are thrilled at the overwhelming response to our Believe & Achieve Scholarship Program this year. We are passionate about helping young adults succeed, and this program is a great way for us to provide the financial support that so many bright and ambitious students in our service area need in today's challenging economic climate," said Ari Haseotes, president of the Cumberland Farms Retail Division.
"With the assistance of this scholarship, I can pay for textbooks, supplies and other necessary school expenses," said 2012 scholarship recipient and Madison, New Hampshire resident Brittany Colcord. "Pursuing a higher education has always been one of my greatest goals. It is thanks to the generosity of Cumberland Farms that people with large dreams and small budgets can strive to reach their goals." Colcord now attends Worcester Polytechnic Institute.
Since formalizing its Corporate Giving Program seven years ago, Cumberland Farms has donated millions of dollars in cash and products to causes that directly benefit thousands of young people through scholarships, direct-to-school programs, youth sports, local fundraising and more.
Framingham, Mass.-based Cumberland Farms operates a network of approximately 600 convenience stores across 11 states.
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