The Promotional Products Education Foundation (PPEF), the industry’s nonprofit founded to recognize and encourage scholastic excellence and academic performance among promotional products industry employees and their college-aged children, has named its scholarship recipients for the 2017-2018 academic year.

“PPEF is off to a record-breaking year with the most applications ever received and the most scholarship funds ever awarded. The Scholarship Committee started with 540 applications and narrowed the awards down to 117 recipients,” says Lori Bauer, PPEF Chair.

She adds, “The board is excited to award $175,000 this year. Our scholarships have increased 75 percent since 2013 and this is a direct result of the generosity of industry companies and individuals. So many people have been eager to give back to the industry and PPEF can’t say thank you enough. Together, we are making a huge impact on the next generation.”

PPEF is awarding 87 new and 30 renewal scholarships to selected recipients who have displayed remarkable academic achievement, extracurricular participation and community service. Each will be awarded between $1,000 and $8,000 to support their college educations. Since it was founded in 1989, PPEF has awarded more than $1.7 million in financial assistance to 1,013 recipients.

Funded by Promotional Products Association International (PPAI) and generous donations from companies and individuals within the promotional products industry, the scholarship program enables youth and professionals to continue their education on a collegiate level. The Association and industry patrons have a long-standing commitment of service to the promotional products industry and this fund supports those who demonstrate the same commitment.

The full list of 2017 scholarship recipients is available here. Find out how to help support PPEF and its scholarship program here.