FLOWOOD — The Mississippi Organ Recovery Agency (MORA) will present up to 15 $500 scholarships to high school seniors across Mississippi in May.
“We are excited to offer scholarships to high school seniors that believe in our mission to improve and save lives through organ, eye and tissue donation,” said Kevin Stump, chief executive officer of MORA. “Whether these high school seniors have a connection to donation through a personal experience or just a strong belief in the gift of donation, we want to show our appreciation through these scholarships.” He continued, “We know that these seniors will continue to promote donation at their next level of education, and their testimonials can be more powerful than any brochure or written material that they could share.”
Applicants must be a graduating senior from an accredited Mississippi high school and be accepted by or have intentions of fall 2015 enrollment into a Mississippi community college or university. They also must have a grade point average of 2.5 or above, include two letters of recommendation from one teacher and an adult of the student’s choice, and include a 300-750 word essay about their connection to donation, why they are registered donors or the importance of encouraging others to be donors.
Applications must be postmarked or hand delivered no later than Friday, March 6 to Susan Bonds, c/o Mississippi Organ Recovery Agency, Midtown Pointe, 499 Gloster Creek, Suite D4, Tupelo, MS 38801.
Scholarship winners will be notified after April 3. For more information, contact Bonds at [email protected] or 662-841-1960.
At present, more than 1,400 Mississippians and more than 123,000 Americans are in need of a lifesaving transplant. A new patient is added to the national transplant waiting list every 10 minutes. An average of 21 people die each day awaiting a lifesaving transplant that never comes. One organ donor can save eight lives. One tissue donor can save or improve the lives of 50 recipients or more.
To register as an organ, eye and tissue donor go to donatelifems.org.
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