The All-Star College Scholarship is truly a life-changing program. Since its inception, UMPS CARE has awarded more than $350,000 to children adopted later in life to help them achieve their dreams of a college education.
The program started after UMPS CARE had been partnering with the Dave Thomas Foundation and learned how difficult it is for kids who were adopted later in life to receive a college degree. In fact. studies show that only about 3% of former foster youth earn a college degree. We are proud to share that our program has an 83% graduation rate.
This program provides $10.000 annually for each recipient over the course of their college journey. While the financial support is huge for families who adopt teens because they do not have the years to save for college tuition, it is the mentorship aspect of the program that is important, too.
UMPS CARE connects each recipient with an Major League Baseball umpire to be the recipient’s mentor. Umpire families pitch in, too, sending care packages or simply picking up the phone and checking in to let these teens know we care.
If you know of a child who was adopted after the age of 13 or older, please send them our way!
Thank you to our sponsors and donors who make this program possible especially Deloitte, the Marcum Foundation, Umpire Focus and the family of MLB umpire Eric Cooper and the community of Des Moines, Iowa.
The financial support we have received makes it possible for two new students to earn scholarships each year.
