Hammond officials extended the city’s College Bound Scholarship Program for another ten years.
The program will be in place through the 2035-2036 school year. This means that a student in fifth grade now is eligible for four years of college tuition assistance through the scholarship.
“The renewal of College Bound will continue to encourage home ownership in Hammond while giving a tremendous opportunity to our children who benefit from this highly successful scholarship program,” McDermott said in a press release.
The renewal passed at a recent city council meeting.
“The City Council unanimously approved the ordinance, and I am more than happy to sign it,” McDermott said. “We all recognize the importance of this program and the benefits that it has for the City of Hammond.”
The College Bound Scholarship program was initiated to increase home ownership and make education a priority. It also aims to improve the overall quality of life in Hammond.
“I strongly believe that this program has stabilized the population in Hammond and helped to make Hammond the largest city in Lake County and the eighth largest city in Indiana,” McDermott said.
Since 2006, more than 8,800 scholarships have been awarded to children of Hammond homeowners. Of those awards, 1,680 have been for all four years of college.
College Bound recipients have attended 50 colleges and universities throughout Indiana. Recipients have completed more than 350,000 hours of community service to the City of Hammond. Community service is a requirement of the scholarship program.
The College Bound program has been awarded two United States Conference of Mayors awards. Applications for the scholarship are made available in January of each year.
“College Bound continues to be one of the most positive programs enacted since I have been mayor,” McDermott said. “I enjoy seeing our young people go to college, become college graduates and show their leadership and commitment to education throughout our city.”
