Boston, MA & Chestnut Hill, MA – For a twelfth straight year, Simon Youth Foundation, a national nonprofit that provides educational opportunities for at-risk high school students, will award a college scholarship to one student from every community that is home to a Simon property. 

Simon Youth Foundation Community Scholarships are awarded through the Simon Youth Scholarships program and in partnership with local Simon properties. The application period is open now – Friday, January 11, 2013. 

Locally, students can pick up a copy of a scholarship application at the Simon Guest Services Center at Copley Place & Mall at Chestnut Hill. Applications also can be downloaded at the SYF website at 

www.syf.org/our-initiatives/scholarships/community-application or

http://www.syf.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/11/SMS-2013-application.pdf 

Any student who will be graduating in the class of 2013 and lives within 50 miles of a Simon property is eligible. The program will award a one-time scholarship of up to $1,400 to students who plan to enroll in an accredited college, university, vocational or technical school. 

In addition, ten regional awards called “Award of Excellence” will be given to top candidates. The regions eligible are Atlanta, Austin, Boston, Dallas, Indianapolis, Miami, New York, Orange County (CA), Orlando, and Seattle/Tacoma. Students from these areas will have the opportunity to win a $2,500 scholarship that is renewable for up to three years. 

In 2012, the Simon Youth Scholarships program awarded $1.2 million to 378 students nationwide.  

“Our mission is to ignite hope for a brighter future in students, and our Foundation is proud to partner with Copley Place and Mall at Chestnut Hill to award scholarships that will remove some of the financial obstacles that would otherwise prevent a student from achieving the dream of a college education,” says J. Michael Durnil, Ph.D., the President and CEO of SYF. 

The 2013 SYF Community Scholarship recipients will be selected by Scholarship Management Services, a third-party administrator. Students are selected based on a variety of criteria, including financial need, academic performance, leadership skills and participation in school and community activities. Those students who are the first in their family to pursue a post secondary education will also be given close consideration. 

The completed application, along with official school transcripts and parents’ most recently filed tax form, must be sent to Scholarship Management Services by March 1, 2013. 

About SYF

Simon Youth Foundation, established in 1998, supports 23 Simon Youth Academies in 13 U.S. states that give at-risk students the same education they would receive in a traditional classroom while offering the flexibility that their individual circumstances require. Recipient of the Crystal Star Award of Excellence in Dropout Prevention from the National Dropout Prevention Center, the foundation has helped more than 9,700 students earn their high school diploma and provided more than $10 million in college scholarships to 3,900 students in 42 states. The Education Commission of the United States has recognized the foundation with its Corporate Award for sustained and substantial investment in improving public education. 

About Copley Place

Located in the historic Back Bay, Copley Place is Boston's most distinctive shopping destination with 75 fabulous boutiques including Neiman Marcus, Barneys New York, Tiffany & Co., Jimmy Choo, Intimacy, Tourneau, Salvatore Ferragamo, Porsche Design, David Yurman, A|X Armani Exchange, Louis Vuitton, Emporio Armani, Christian Dior, Burberry and BCBGMAXAZRIA.  A dazzling mixed-use complex, Copley Place is a concept unlike any other in the Boston area. The upscale center includes two levels of shopping, restaurants, four office buildings, 1,400 parking spaces and two hotels, The Westin Hotel and The Boston Marriott Copley Place.

About Mall at Chestnut Hill

The Mall at Chestnut Hill, a Simon property, is an upscale, two-level enclosed shopping mall, located in the Chestnut Hill section of Newton, Massachusetts on Boylston Street (Route 9). Anchored by Bloomingdale's in two locations, with the Women's store located at the west end and the Men's Home & Furnishing store anchoring the east end, the Mall at Chestnut Hill offers shoppers an enjoyable and fashionable shopping experience with fine merchandise from over 60 specialty boutiques.