Iowa Association of REALTORS® Donates $4,500 to Iowa Dollars for Scholars

CLIVE, IA (02/10/2011)(readMedia)-- The Iowa Association of REALTORS® (IAR) has donated $4,500 to Iowa Dollars for Scholars. The contribution will go toward nine $500 Community Volunteer Service Awards (CVSA) for students in Dollars for Scholars chapters statewide.

The CVSA awards encourage, expand and reward community volunteer service while also recognizing and supporting academic excellence. A scholarship recipient will be selected in each of IAR's nine regions throughout Iowa. Only students in Dollars for Scholars chapters are eligible to apply. Students should contact their local Dollars for Scholars chapters for the application form and criteria. Dollars for Scholars is a program of Scholarship America®.

"We applaud the Iowa Association of REALTORS®' support of local students' dreams of higher education and its encouragement of community volunteer service," said Judi Pierick, executive director of Iowa Dollars for Scholars. "The escalating cost of higher education is putting college out of the reach of some students. As a result, private sector scholarships increasingly are becoming more important in these difficult economic times. These scholarships will be significant for the nine student recipients."

"Iowa's future relies on an educated workforce to be the future leaders in our communities. The Iowa Association of REALTORS® is proud to support the dreams of a college education for those future leaders through the nine Community Volunteer Scholarship Awards we are funding," said Kurt Schade, president of the IAR. "We cannot ask for a better partner than Iowa Dollars for Scholars in this endeavor. We are pleased to be able to do this during a changing real estate climate and plan to support this program for many years to come."

Nominees for the Community Volunteer Service Award are evaluated on their record of volunteerism and community service, making the award atypical among nationally distributed scholarships, according to Pierick. The scholarships, which also recognize academic achievement, are sponsored each year by a number of companies, foundations and individuals. Although this is a national program, the donation by the Iowa Association of REALTORS® will be earmarked only for Iowa students in Dollars for Scholars chapters.

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