Last year I issued a press release announcing the details of our latest work ethic scholarship program. In fact, I posted my first draft on this very page and asked you guys to proofread it for me, which you did. (Nothing worse than putting an official press release out on the “wire” with split infinitives and dangling participles.)
Because last year’s press release was free of grammatical errors, (and because no one in the press actually reads these things,) I’m reissuing the exact same document from 2024 with the old numbers crossed out and the new ones scribbled in by hand – in red. In spite of this decidedly unprofessional approach, I think you’ll be impressed by the new numbers – specifically, the number of people we’ve been able to assist, (over 500!) and the number of dollars we’ve been able to award, (over 5 million!)
As I’ve said many times this year, the headlines have truly caught up our work ethic scholarship program. Not a day goes by that I don’t hear from someone running a large company desperate to find tradespeople. And this year, we received 10X the number of applications as we did the year before. That’s extraordinary, and totally unprecedented.
Attached is a list of this year’s scholarship recipients, most of whom have already been contacted. If your name is on the list, congratulations. It’s our privilege to help pay for the training you need to master a skill that’s truly in demand. If you applied and your name is not on the list, please don’t take it personally. The competition really was intense, and our resources are, sadly, not infinite. Please apply again next round, and don’t be discouraged.
As for the rest of you, your mission, should you choose to accept it, is to share this decidedly unprofessional press release, which will hopefully inspire people to visit mikeroweWORKS.org. The donate button is big and red and hard to miss, and I’m now in the process of replenishing the coffers. If this year is any indication, we’re going to be swamped with applications in 2026. That’s great news, but financially, our work is cut out for us. If you can support our efforts with a modest, or immodest donation, please do. If not, please help me spread the word.
Thanks,
Mike