Harrisburg, Pa. – Youth Advocate Programs (YAP®), Inc. is proud to grant its 500th Tom Jeffers Endowment Fund for Continuing Education scholarship to a former Pennsylvania program participant who is pursuing his bachelor’s degree.
Former YAP® Crawford County, Pa. program participant David received his fifth scholarship through the Endowment Fund to continue his third year of college where he is studying psychology.
“My ultimate dream would be to become a therapist for kids with autism,” David wrote in his scholarship application essay to the Endowment Board. “I hope in my career to educate people without autism on what it means to have autism to dispel all of the misnomers people have.”
YAP® is a national nonprofit celebrating five decades of empowering young people and families facing complex challenges with tools to thrive. The organization partners with public systems in 32 states and Washington, D.C. to deliver community-based individual and family “wraparound” and behavioral health services as an alternative to placing young people in trouble or crisis or who have intellectual/developmental disabilities in residential care or corrections facilities.
“We are ecstatic to be able to provide the 500th award to a deserving youth and it’s all happening during YAP’s 50th anniversary year in 2025,” said YAP® Endowment Board President and Chief Impact Officer Patty Rosati. “This is a huge landmark for the Tom Jeffers Endowment Fund for Continuing Education, and I am pleased that we are able to continue to honor YAP’s founder Tom Jeffers through this initiative.”
Supported mainly by YAP® employee donations; the unique Endowment Fund also received generous donations from YAP® Board of Directors and other contributors. The scholarship fund covers the costs of college tuition, job training, continuing education and fees or, for some recipients, a laptop computer. Eligible current and former program participants and their parents/guardians may apply for and receive the scholarship annually. In July, the YAP Endowment Board increased the annual scholarship dollar amount limit from $1,200 to $1,500.
The Endowment Fund started in 2004 and awarded its first scholarship in fiscal year 2008. Rosati said the first recipient of the Endowment Fund was a young man from Tarrant County, Texas who attended the fire academy in the requested amount of $450.
“It’s amazing to see and read all of the current and former YAP program participants and their families’ stories of how they plan to use the scholarship to pursue their education and passions,” Rosati added. “We’re looking forward to helping the next 500 recipients.”
To donate to the Endowment fund, click here. For more information on YAP®, visit yapinc.org.