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Folds of Honor Scholarships Aid Military, First Responder Families
Navy Veteran Details Program for Local Rotarians
D.J. Anderson, a retired Navy Lt. Commander and former National Security Agency employee, was guest speaker for a recent Columbia-Patuxent Rotary Club meeting. For the past 12 years he’s been an active supporter and fundraiser for Folds of Honor. That nonprofit was established in 2007 to provide educational scholarships for children and military spouses of deceased or disabled service members.
The eligibility group was expanded in 2022 to include families of first responders such as police, firefighters and EMTs. Retired Lt. Col. Dan Rooney is founder and CEO of the organization that’s headquartered in Oklahoma. Its motto is “honor their sacrifice, educate their legacy.”
Since 2007 Folds of Honor has awarded 62,000 scholarships of $5,000 each per semester. Recipients or prospective recipients can reapply every year. Some 94.3% of donations to Folds of Honor go to fund scholarships, but 7,700 qualified applicants were turned down because of lack of funding last year.
Find out what's happening in Columbiafor free with the latest updates from Patch.
Anderson said there are two types of scholarships: Higher Education - for those enrolled or planning to enroll in an undergraduate program or study leading to a bachelor’s degree at an accredited college or university, technical or trade school; and a Children’s Fund - for those enrolled in K-12, an accredited private school or tutoring company.
Anderson said kindergarten through 12th grade is where the majority of the money goes currently because so many qualifying families have young children. He has run several Folds of Honor golf tournaments and raised hundreds of thousands of dollars for scholarships. He cited national business support including $10 million a year from Budweiser and $20 million a year from GMC.
Find out what's happening in Columbiafor free with the latest updates from Patch.
Donors can become a “Wingman” for Folds of Honor by giving $13 a month. “So why 13?” Anderson said. “The number 13 is significant, because on the (deceased’s) coffin there’s always a flag. It takes 13 folds for that flag.”
Columbia-Patuxent Rotary is the largest and most active of Howard County’s seven Rotary clubs. Meetings are held on Fridays at 7:30 a.m. at JAM Eateries. Visitors are always welcome.
