Denny’s Contributes $50,000 to Florida Tax Credit Scholarship Program, Launches Hungry for Education
Tampa, FL (PRWEB) July 16, 2013 -- Denny’s, one of America's largest full-service restaurant chains, announced today that the company will be making a $50,000 contribution to the Florida Tax Credit Scholarship Program (FTC), which is administered by the nonprofit Step Up For Students. Denny’s contribution to Step Up For Students will fully fund nearly 10 scholarships for low-income schoolchildren in Florida.
Step Up For Students anticipates funding, roughly 60,000 scholarships, during the 2013-14 school year with help from corporations like Denny’s that will allow low-income students to attend either a public or private school of their parents’ choice.
Denny’s joined Step Up For Students in 2013 as a corporate partner and will receive a dollar-for-dollar tax credit for its contribution. Since the program was initiated in 2002, the corporate community has invested more than $1 billion, resulting in more than 271,000 scholarships for underprivileged students in kindergarten through 12th grade.
“We are honored to welcome Denny’s as a partner in our mission to help low-income Florida students access schools that fit their unique learning needs,” said Doug Tuthill, Step Up For Students president. “We commend Denny’s for the work they are doing through the Hungry For Education scholarship program and are thankful for their partnership in our program, as well.”
This announcement comes on the heels of Denny’s new scholarship program for high school and college students, the Hungry For Education (HFE) scholarship program, which will fund scholarships for qualifying students who submit the best ideas on ways Denny’s can help end childhood hunger.
“Beyond Denny’s commitment to ending childhood hunger, our company recognizes that a quality education is equally important in ensuring student success,” said John Miller, president and chief executive officer of Denny’s. “We are proud to create inspired opportunities for deserving students through our partnership Step Up For Students and our new scholarship program, Hungry for Education.”
Hungry for Education is now open to qualified high school and college student applicants in 12 states (CA, FL, GA, IL, NV, SC, TX, NM, NY, CO, AZ, DC), and 34 candidates will be selected to receive a total of $50,000 in scholarships.
Denny’s has partnered with non-profit minority advocacy organizations including League of United American Citizens (LULAC), Hispanic Association of Colleges and Universities (HACU), the Tom Joyner Foundation, U.S. Pan Asian Chamber of Commerce, Urban League of the Upstate, and Rainbow PUSH Coalition, who will each select and administer this year’s winners on behalf of their respective organizations and Denny’s. Qualified students are invited to apply by visiting the Hungry for Education Scholarship site at http://www.dennyshungryforeducation.com where they can begin the application process.
High school and college students will be asked to provide an essay on how Denny’s can help put an end to childhood hunger in their local communities. The deadline for applying is September 15, 2013.
Upon review of the winning applicants’ essays, Denny’s will select ideas from the pool of winners to put the essay plans into action to make a difference in the local communities, working directly with the student scholarship winners to accelerate the fight against childhood hunger.
About Denny's Corp.
Denny's is one of America's largest full-service family restaurant chains, currently operating more than 1,680 franchised, licensed and company-owned restaurants across the United States, Canada, Costa Rica, Mexico, Honduras, Guam, Puerto Rico and New Zealand. For further information on Denny's, including news releases, please visit the Denny's website at http://www.dennys.com.
About Step Up For Students
Step Up For Students is the nonprofit organization responsible for administering the Florida Tax Credit Scholarship program. The scholarship program is available to students who qualify for a free or reduced-price lunch and provides tuition assistance to the private school of their parents’ choice or transportation help to an out-of-district public school. Scholarships are funded by corporations that receive a dollar-for-dollar tax credit for their contributions. For more information, visit http://www.stepupforstudents.org.
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Media contacts:
Ashley McDuffie, SUFS
amcduffie(at)sufs(dot)org | 813-463-8950
Seth Grugle, Erwin Penland
seth.grugle(at)erwinpenland(dot)com | 212-905-7046
Ashley McDuffie, Step Up For Students, http://www.stepupforstudents.org, (813) 463-8950, [email protected]
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