Scholarship to Benefit Military Families

ALACHUA, Fla., June 12, 2014 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- NCCER and its Build Your Future initiative (BYF) have partnered with the Folds of Honor Foundation to create an annual scholarship for the children and spouses of fallen or wounded soldiers who are seeking construction-related degrees. The announcement comes on the heels of this year's annual Patriot Cup, an invitation-only golf tournament featuring professional and military golfers, which was held Memorial Day weekend.

"We are honored to provide this scholarship to the Folds of Honor Foundation to support new entrants into the construction industry," said Don Whyte, president of NCCER. "One of the BYF tools is a military recruitment strategy. In addition to recruiting military personnel departing the service, we want to extend our support to promote construction education opportunities to the families of fallen or disabled military service men and women."

NCCER will donate $20,000 to the Folds of Honor Foundation annually for five years. The Foundation will use the funds to provide scholarships to students seeking a construction-related degree or certificate from a two- or four-year college, university or technical school. Military families interested in applying for the scholarship can visit www.FoldsofHonor.org for more information.

"We are very proud and grateful for our relationship with NCCER and its Build Your Future initiative," said Major Dan Rooney, Folds of Honor Founder. "While we've had the support of NCCER and its employees for several years, it's truly awe-inspiring to establish a $20,000 annual scholarship endowment to the families of fallen and disabled service members who are interested in pursuing construction careers. We applaud NCCER and Build Your Future's commitment to honoring the sacrifice of our heroes and educating their legacy."

The scholarship comes as a result of NCCER's longstanding relationship with the Folds of Honor Foundation. NCCER and BYF have been proud supporters for the last five years, contributing more than $51,000. The scholarship package will be in addition to the contributions that NCCER and BYF already provide.

About NCCER — NCCER is a not-for-profit 501 (c)(3) education foundation created by the construction industry to develop standardized curriculum with portable credentials to help address the skilled, construction workforce shortage. NCCER is recognized by the industry as the training, assessment, certification and career development standard for the construction and maintenance craft professional. For more information, visit www.nccer.org or contact NCCER customer service at 888.622.3720.

About the Folds of Honor Foundation – Folds of Honor, based in Owasso, Okla., is a 501(c)(3) charitable organization with a mission to empower military families by providing educational scholarships and other assistance for the children and spouses of military service men and women killed or disabled while serving our great nation. Major Dan Rooney, a former F-16 pilot in the Oklahoma Air National Guard, PGA Professional and USGA Member, founded Folds of Honor in 2007, and more than 5,000 educational scholarships have been awarded. For more information or to make a donation, visit www.FoldsofHonor.org.

About Build Your Future – The goal of the Build Your Future (BYF) initiative is to lead individuals to opportunities for career placement, advanced education and training and ultimately long-term rewarding careers in the construction industry. BYF is NCCER's national recruitment and image enhancement initiative. For more information, visit www.byf.org.