OAR News

Next month, OAR will award an all-time high of 50 scholarships to students with autism pursuing higher education, an increase of 11 over last year. This year’s awards have been made possible through the continued generosity of the Lisa Higgins Hussman Foundation, increased support from the Schwallie Family Foundation, and the amazing efforts of a 12-year-old girl with autism.

Last June, Board member Emeritus and founder of the scholarship program, Ed Schwallie, passed away. This year on the one-year anniversary of his death, the Schwallie family announced that it would fund for 10 more scholarships in his honor. Gabriella Hoffman, a 12-year-old girl with autism who raised $3,220 by creating and selling essential oils, funded an 11th new scholarship. Those new scholarships bring the number of Schwallie Family Scholarships this year to 31.

OAR will award 20 more scholarships through the Lisa Higgins Hussman Scholarship program.

Since its establishment in 2007, the OAR Scholarship Program, which began with the Schwallie Family scholarships, has provided 268 students with autism a total of $815,000 in scholarships. These students have gone on to pursue two- and four-year degrees from colleges and universities, as well as completed vocational and life-skill schools.  Next month’s awards will bring those totals to 318 recipients and $965,000, which means 2019 will see this program surpass the $1 million mark.

OAR will announce the 2018 OAR Scholarship recipients in August. The application period for the 2019 OAR Scholarship Program will open in early December.