We are proud to be selected as one of the seven charities for this year’s 2015 Citi e for Education campaign. The grant is based on volumes traded on Citi’s online trading platforms, Citi Velocity Trading and CitiFX Pulse, between October 5th and December 11th 2015. Citi will donate $1 for every $1 million transacted on these platforms.
Citi has a long history of supporting educational ambitions around the globe. The e for Education initiative helps connect students around the world to educational opportunities and support services that empower them to improve their lives.
Around the globe, it is estimated that over 70 million children are not in school. Six other organizations, spanning a range of geographies and core focus areas, were also selected to benefit from the e for Education initiative. With the children of fallen patriots’ college education being our main focus, we are honored to partner with universal companies who share the same core values of trust, respect and compassion. Fellow Citi Awardees include Uncommon Schools, SkillForce, TeachFirst, Room to Read, Empower and CivicBuilders.
E for Education supports Children of Fallen Patriots Foundation due to its need to create a future for military children who have lost a parent in the line of duty. We have provided over $9.8 million in support and have created a pipeline for approximately 6,000 children of our fallen.
The e for Education campaign will help ensure that former, current and future scholarship recipients won’t have the burden of paying for higher education.
Students like current scholarship recipient, Devin Casillas, have experienced a difficult journey to reach a feeling of financial comfort. Only 9 years old when his father was killed while on active duty, he is now going to Texas Tech to pursue a career in physical therapy.
“Words can’t express how grateful we are for the foundation,” explained Casillas. “Being a freshman in college and not yet knowing what to expect, the foundation has helped my mother and I to be a little more at ease by allowing us to not be stressed by so many financial obligations.”
For families, like the Casillas, financial obligations leading up to a higher education can be stressful for both the parent and the child. Families share the hardship of not having both parents to comfort and provide for the child. Many surviving families struggle to make ends meet with sixty percent of surviving spouses making less than $50,000 per year. A college education is the single most important gift we can provide them with.
Janina Taylor has 2 very young children who won’t benefit from our program for years to come, but knowing that she has support lets her focus on other important family needs. Approximately 27% of children left behind are younger than 5 years old at the time of their active duty parent’s death. We continue to provide educational counseling that will help lead the child in the right direction, even at a young age.
Jervon Lemon, who is a mother herself, lost her dad by a roadside bomb while serving in Iraq. By achieving a master’s degree in counseling, she can now provide for her family and live out her father’s legacy. Granting Jervon a college education is one of the best ways we can honor her father, Jerome, who sacrificed his life for our country.
Along with the help of financial partners like Citi, we are changing the lives of those left behind in the most positive way, allowing children to achieve a career path that they desire through a college education. Giving back to those who gave their lives for us is an essential investment in the future of America. With the support of partners like Citi along with every individual contribution, we can continue to increase funds for the families we support and make a deep-rooted difference that lasts a lifetime.