The Miami-Dade County Youth Fair and Exposition recently announced its Scholarship Fund awarded $200,000 in 2018, including $1,000 scholarships to 182 deserving high school seniors graduating from public and private schools across the county.
“Supporting education has always been our top priority at The Youth Fair,” said Robert Hohenstein, president and CEO. “Every year our college scholarships help hundreds of Miami-Dade County students to achieve their dreams and 2018 is no exception. This year we’ve been able to award $200,000 through the annual Scholarship Program and other scholarships we fund.”
The Youth Fair’s Scholarship Program is the largest of its kind in Miami-Dade County. The scholarship distribution for graduating seniors increased this year to $182,000 to allow 31 more students to receive financial help. Support from The Youth Fair’s concessionaires, who hold fundraisers to benefit the Scholarship Fund, as well as generous donors and a successful Youth Fair made the increase possible.
Students from public, private and charter schools, home schools and alternative education and vocational programs applied for the $1,000 scholarship. Recipients included 16 students who plan to study for careers related to agriculture.
The 2018 Scholarship Fund also allocated scholarship awards to the winners of the prestigious Elie Wiesel Foundation for Humanity Prize in Ethics Essay Contest for Miami-Dade County Public high school juniors and seniors. In addition, The Youth Fair distributed six $1,000 scholarships to college students enrolled in the Theater Arts Department at Florida International University.
The Scholarship Program dinner ceremony on May 24 was attended by more than 500 students, parents and dignitaries at the E. Darwin Fuchs Pavilion on the Fairgrounds. This year’s emcee for the event was Layron Livingston, a reporter at WPLG-Channel 10. Special guests included Miami-Dade County Public Schools superintendent Alberto Carvalho; school board members Maria Teresa Rojas and Lawrence S. Feldman.
The Scholarship Program, created in 1958, affirms The Youth Fair’s commitment to education. Students receiving the scholarships were selected for outstanding dedication to academics and to school and community activities. To date, The Youth Fair has awarded well over $11 million to Miami-Dade County students to help them achieve higher education.
The Miami-Dade County Youth Fair & Exposition (The Youth Fair) is the largest charity event in South Florida. The not-for-profit association is dedicated to promoting education and agriculture while showcasing and rewarding youth achievement and providing quality family entertainment, all without taxpayer dollars. The annual Youth Fair exhibits more than 63,000 student projects to nearly 600,000 Youth Fair guests and, in 2017, awarded more than $530,000 in college scholarships, cash premiums and awards to students. To date, The Youth Fair has presented well over $11 million to the Miami-Dade community.
The Fair Exposition Center, which is the second largest convention center in Miami-Dade County, hosts an additional 70 community events each year. Visit fairexpo.com or call 305-223-7060.
