VFW and Sport Clips Haircuts Award Scholarships Totaling More Than $288,000

Service members and veterans receive needed financial aid for Spring 2015

KANSAS CITY, Missouri (Jan. 26, 2015)

The Veterans of Foreign Wars is proud to announce 70 veterans and service members have been awarded VFW’s “Sport Clips Help A Hero Scholarships” this spring, totaling more than $288,000.

Help A Hero Scholarships are awarded exclusively to service members and veterans to help cover the cost of tuition and fees. Scholarships are available for both spring and fall semesters. Recipients are encouraged to reapply as they continue their education.

Here is the complete list of spring recipients.

Launched in 2013, the Help A Hero Scholarship program has awarded over 200 scholarships totaling nearly three-quarters of a million dollars to service members and veterans.

“The VFW is here to support our veterans as they transition to civilian life, and we know education is a crucial element to ensuring they succeed. With the GI Bill’s limitations, this scholarship helps fill the gaps for so many veterans,” said VFW National Commander John Stroud.

For students like Micha Gashes, an Air Force Reservist, these scholarships lessen the financial burden associated with meeting post-secondary educational goals. “My GI Bill benefits have been exhausted, and I really want to finish what I started. This scholarship has been amazing and will allow me to use the mechanic skills I gained in the military now that I’m working in the civilian sector.”

Applications are now being accepted for the fall; the deadline to apply is April 30. For more information, including eligibility criteria, visit vfw.org/scholarship.

Sport Clips, the nation’s leading men’s and boys’ hair care franchise, provides funding for the program through its annual “Help A Hero” fundraising campaign. In 2014, through the support of thousands of Sport Clips stylists across the nation and their clients, as well as donations from partners in the salon industry, the company raised more than $706,000 to benefit the program. Donations were collected in stores and at local fundraising events in the fall with efforts culminating on Veterans Day, Sport Clips’ “Biggest Haircut Day of the Year.” Stores donated a dollar from every haircut service to the scholarship program. Sport Clips will launch its ninth annual Help A Hero campaign on October 12.

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About THE VFW

The Veterans of Foreign Wars of the U.S. is a nonprofit veterans service organization comprised of veterans and eligible military service members from the active, Guard and Reserve forces. Founded in 1899 and chartered by Congress in 1936, the VFW is the nation’s largest organization of war veterans and its oldest major veterans organization. With nearly 1.9 million VFW and Auxiliary members located in more than 6,800 Posts worldwide, “NO ONE DOES MORE FOR VETERANS.” The VFW and its Auxiliaries are dedicated to veterans’ service, legislative advocacy, and military and community service programs. For more information or to join, visit our website at www.vfw.org.

About Sport Clips Haircuts

Sport Clips Haircuts is headquartered in Georgetown, Texas. It was established in 1993 and started franchising in 1995 by founder and CEO Gordon Logan. The sports-themed haircutting franchise, which specializes in haircuts for men and boys, is ranked by Entrepreneur Magazine as one of the top 20 "Fastest-Growing Franchises" and in the top 40 in the "Franchise 500." Sport Clips Haircuts was ranked by FORBES as a "Top Ten Best Franchise" to buy for its investment category. With more than 1,300 Sport Clips stores, numerous new locations open each month in the U.S. and Canada. Sport Clips is the "Official Haircutter" of the Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW), offers veterans preferential pricing on haircuts and franchises, and was named as one of the "2014 Best for Vets: Franchises" by Military Times. Our "Help A Hero" program has raised more than $3 million to help deployed and hospitalized U.S. service members call home through the VFW's Operation Uplink™ and provide scholarships for veterans transitioning to a civilian career. Sport Clips is a proud sponsor of Joe Gibbs Racing's Denny Hamlin and Carl Edwards, and partners with numerous NCAA and professional sports teams. To learn more about Sport Clips, visit sportclips.com