The Burger King/McLamore Youth Opportunities Foundation announced April 10 the winners of its inaugural scholarship program, 837 deserving youth who will receive assistance to pursue the educational opportunities they need to succeed. The high school seniors hail from across North America and have proven themselves in the academic arena, in service to their communities, through co-curricular involvement and with part-time employment.
“We are thrilled to be awarding 837 hard-working students, who emulate the work ethic of our co-founder, the inaugural scholarships of the Burger King/McLamore Youth Opportunities Foundation,” said Michael De Rosa, Chairman of the Foundation and a Burger King franchisee. “I know that Jim McLamore would be proud of the legacy he leaves behind in giving such deserving youth the opportunity to realize their dreams.”
The Burger King/McLamore Youth Opportunities Foundation is a public non- profit organization created in memory of Burger King Corporation co-founder, James W. McLamore, to support youth who emulate his values of integrity, high standards, entrepreneurialism, and good citizenship. Founded in 1997, the Foundation is working to coordinate the entire Burger King¨ system in a philanthropic effort dedicated to providing educational opportunities for high school students in the United States, Canada, and Puerto Rico.
The Burger King/McLamore North America Scholarship Program has been designed and implemented with the Trust to Reach Educational Excellence, the foundation of the National Association of Secondary School Principals. More than thirty-one thousand scholarship packages were distributed to principals throughout North America last October. They screened more than 9,500 applications, which included students’ transcripts, participation in community and/or co-curricular activities, and written recommendations from the students’ principals and employers, in determining this year’s winners. Additionally, the students have worked part-time an average of 15 hours per week for 40 weeks per year unless individual circumstances have prevented their employment. It is the hope of the Foundation that these scholarships will serve as a contribution to the development of a skilled work force for the future.
The scholarship announcements will take place in Orlando, Florida on April 11 as part of the National Franchisee (NFA) Convention being held in conjunction with Burger King Corporation’s annual Business Information Meeting. The Burger King¨ franchisees play an integral role in fundraising for the Foundation through their generous contributions to and fundraising for the scholarship fund. The names and high schools of each of the 837 recipients will also be announced in a full-page advertisement in USA Today on April 11, 2000.
The Burger King/McLamore North American Scholarship Program provides a minimum of one scholarship to be awarded in all 269 local Burger King¨ markets throughout North America each year. Additional funds raised in franchisee or company restaurants each year provide for scholarship awards in the local communities. A total of 568 scholarships have been awarded locally for 2000/01, for a total of 837 this first year of the program.