The Orland Park Veterans Commission established a new scholarship for veterans or their dependents who attend Moraine Valley Community College. The organization donated $3,000 to provide three $1,000 scholarships that can be used toward the recipients’ tuition, books and fees.

“Our charter is to support veterans in the community. We raise and donate funds to causes that help us achieve this mission,” said Dale A. Carver, chairperson of the Orland Park Veterans Commission. “We created this scholarship through the Moraine Valley Foundation because it has the procedures and resources in place to ensure the scholarship will be awarded to the most deserving applicants.”

Carver noted that Moraine Valley is supportive of veterans and has an active veterans organization, Boots to College, on its campus.

The recipients of the scholarship this year included Elizabeth Cobo of Orland Park, Lisa Mannion of Palos Hills, and Alejandro Martinez of Chicago.

Veterans of any branch of the military who received an honorable discharge or a dependent of a service member or veteran who demonstrates financial need could apply for the scholarship. They must carry a minimum of six hours in the semester during which the scholarship is awarded and must maintain a 2.0 GPA. In addition, they must submit a personal statement about their educational goals and how the scholarship will help them achieve those.

“For many years, the efforts of most veterans organizations have recognized the contributions of veterans from World War II, the Korean War and Vietnam. This scholarship not only includes those veterans, but also veterans from the post-Vietnam era, up to the present day. We also wanted to support veterans’ families and caregivers by making this scholarship available to them,” Carver said.

For more information on creating a scholarship at Moraine Valley, contact Kristy McGreal, executive director of the Moraine Valley Foundation, at [email protected].

For media inquiries, contact Karen Town, communications specialist, at (708) 974-5652 or [email protected].