Bloomington, MN – When a parent is seriously injured in the workplace, it affects the whole family. That’s why the SFM Foundation scholarships exist — to ensure that those workers’ children can still achieve their dreams by getting a college education.
The children of workers who were severely or fatally injured while working for a Minnesota, Wisconsin or Iowa employer are eligible to apply for post-secondary scholarships, which are up to $10,000 per year for up to five years. The application can be found at sfmfoundation.com/application.
Scholarship recipient Mikaela Willhite, of St. Cloud, graduated magna cum laude from St. Cloud State University in 2014, and now works as a registered nurse in the intensive care unit at St. Cloud Hospital. Her father died due to injuries sustained when his service truck was rear-ended by a semitrailer. She now works side-by-side with many of those same nurses and doctors who treated her father.
“I feel like everything has just come full circle,” she said. “It’s comforting to help other families in the way we were helped.”
Willhite said the scholarship allowed her to work less and focus on her schooling, which enabled her academic and career success. She is now a member of the SFM Foundation Board of Directors.
Since its inception in 2008, the Foundation has committed a total of $885,500 toward scholarships benefiting 94 students.
Past SFM Scholarship recipients have gone on to attend medical school, work in law enforcement and become teachers among many other occupations.
The SFM Foundation was started by employees at Bloomington, Minn.-based SFM Companies, a regional workers’ compensation insurer. It is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit charitable organization. For more information on the SFM Foundation, visit sfmfoundation.com.
Source: SFM Foundation