BISON Fund extends services into Eggertsville, Snyder

The BISON Scholarship Fund will be offering economically disadvantaged families in Eggertsville and Snyder the opportunity to apply for scholarships beginning in the 2007-2008 school year.

"We realize there are needy families throughout Western New York and our organization has come to the point where we can raise the resources and work with our philanthropic partnerships to expand scholarship opportunities to even more students throughout the region," said Kathleen Christy, executive director for the BISON Fund. "This is a historic milestone for our organization as we can expand educational options and choices for low income families in a significantly larger geography."

Since the BISON Fund was founded in 1995, more than 11,300 scholarships have been awarded to students in the City of Buffalo with an economic value of nearly $7.5 million. There currently are 1,151 children who receive a BISON scholarship who are attending more than 63 different private grammar schools.

The BISON Fund is a privately funded scholarship program that focuses on economically disadvantaged children from kindergarten through eighth grade.

Previously, only students in the City of Buffalo were eligible to submit a scholarship application. The BISON Fund is designed to give low-income families a full range of choices for their children's education. Families awarded a BISON scholarship are able to enroll their child in a private or Catholic grammar school of their choice.

"The BISON Fund simply is expanding our network so that more families have opportunities to secure scholarships to give their child the best chance for success in obtaining a quality education which is so critically important for their future success," she said.

The scholarship amount is based on household size and income. The amounts generally cover 25 percent to 75 percent of a student's tuition, up to $1,300 per child. Ten years ago, the average value of a BISON scholarship was a little over $500 and today it's just over $800.

Through a partnership with the Children's Scholarship Fund of New York and various Western New York donors, BISON has been able to maintain more than 1,000 children in the program each year.

Scholarship winners will be selected in May through a computerized lottery. The application deadline is April 30. Families interested in receiving an application can contact the BISON Scholarship Fund office at 854-0869 or by visiting the BISON Fund Web site at www.bisonfund.com. Applications also are available at all private or Catholic grammar schools in the greater Buffalo area.

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The application deadline is Monday, April 30. For information, call 854-0869 or by visiting the BISON Fund Web site at www. bisonfund. com.