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About the Astronaut Scholarship Foundation
More than 70 astronauts are helping the United States retain its world leadership in science and technology by providing scholarships for college students who exhibit motivation, imagination, and exceptional performance in the science or engineering field of their major.
The Astronaut Scholarship Foundation was established originally in 1984 as the Mercury Seven Foundation by the six surviving members of America's original Mercury Seven astronauts, Mrs. Betty Grissom, widow of the seventh, Virgil (Gus) Grissom, William Douglas, M.D., the Project Mercury flight surgeon, and Henri Landwirth, an Orlando businessman and friend of the astronauts. The founding astronauts were Malcolm Scott Carpenter, L. Gordon Cooper Jr., John H. Glenn Jr., Walter M. Schirra, Alan B. Shepard Jr., and Donald K. (Deke) Slayton. Currently, Apollo astronaut Al Worden is Chairman of the foundation's Board of Directors.
The original Mercury Seven Foundation began on a shoestring, and the first seven scholarships, at $1,000 each, were awarded in 1986. As more money was raised the amount and number of scholarships increased gradually. The foundation now awards annually 19 scholarships each worth $10,000, for a total of $190,000. To date, the foundation has awarded nearly $2.5 million in scholarships to 226 deserving students. The foundation is building a scholarship fund for perpetuity.
The foundation raises money for scholarships for upper level college students and those pursuing masters in the fields of science and engineering. Expenses are kept to a minimum. Much of the legal and financial assistance required is contributed by individuals who support the foundation's goals. The foundation is a 501(c)(3) tax-exempt, non-profit corporation.
Scholarship money is raised through astronaut appearances, fund-raising events, corporate and individual donations, and astronaut autographs. In 1995, with the realization that the five remaining Mercury astronauts would not be able to raise scholarship funds forever, the Board of Directors voted to broaden the membership and to change the name to the Astronaut Scholarship Foundation. More than 70 astronauts from the Mercury, Gemini, Apollo, Skylab, and Space Shuttle programs are now members helping with the education effort.
Contributors range from NASA contractors such as the Boeing Company, Delaware North Companies, and Lockheed Martin to Rick Amendola, an Illinois tool and die worker who sends every cent of his overtime money to the foundation because he wants to give deserving kids the best education they can receive.... "Trust me when I say the tired legs and sore back go away quickly when I think where that money is going."