UConn Health

December 21, 2012 | Art Sorrentino, UConn Foundation

UConn Establishes Memorial Scholarship to Honor Victims of the Newtown School Shootings

The scholarship will help support college costs for many of those directly affected by the assault.

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In response to the grief and shock accompanying the tragic school killings in Newtown on Dec. 14, the University of Connecticut has created a memorial scholarship fund to honor those who died.

The Sandy Hook School Memorial Scholarship Fund at the University of Connecticut will help support the college costs for any siblings of those killed in the assault, the dependents of adults who also lost their lives, as well as students currently enrolled at the elementary school, who are accepted to attend the University.

Ways to Donate to the Sandy Hook School Memorial Scholarship Fund
Via text: Donors may contribute to the fund by texting 50555 with uconn newtown. University alumni should also add their name and graduation year. For example: uconn newtown John Smith 88. $10.00 donation to support the University of Connecticut Foundation through the mGive Foundation. Charges will appear on your wireless bill, or be deducted from your prepaid balance. All purchases must be authorized by account holder. Must be 18 years of age or have parental permission to participate. Message and data rates may apply. Text STOP to 50555 to STOP. Text HELP to 50555 for HELP. Full terms and privacy policy: s.uconn.edu/txt.
Online giving page: Visit www.friends.uconn.edu/sandyhook to make a gift on the secure online giving site.
By mail: Mail your check to the UConn Foundation at 2390 Alumni Drive Unit 3206, Storrs, CT 06269-3206. Please note on your check that the gift is for the Sandy Hook School Memorial Scholarship Fund.

“It is not easy to conceive of the most heartfelt and respectful way to respond in the wake of such a shattering event,” said UConn President Susan Herbst. “Yet Newtown is in our own state and many of our students and alumni have ties to those who are affected directly. The gift of higher education is a transformational one. We want the students of Sandy Hook to have the opportunity to study at a top public research university.”

Donations will be collected through the University of Connecticut Foundation to establish a fund in anticipation of supporting the siblings and dependents of those who died, and Sandy Hook Elementary School students in the K-4 grades today who will be of college age beginning in approximately 2021. Available funds that have been collected by that time will be awarded to eligible recipients on the basis of financial need. If any funds remain once the needs of the groups above have been met, they will be used to benefit future students from Newtown who attend UConn.

UConn’s Hall of Fame women’s basketball coach Geno Auriemma and his wife, Kathy, have made an $80,000 lead gift to the fund.

“Over this past difficult weekend, Kathy and I gave much consideration to what we as a family could do that would have some significance for the future,” said Auriemma. “Because UConn is so important to us, we decided to establish a scholarship and encourage other UConn alumni, friends, and fans around the world to invest in the future of the Sandy Hook survivors.”

UConn alumni and members of the public seeking a way to pay tribute to the victims of the tragedy are invited to contribute to the Sandy Hook School Memorial Scholarship Fund. More information is available at the University of Connecticut Foundation (www.foundation.uconn.edu) website.