Caregiver scholarships for disability care are given out to those people who have been involved in taking care of another person or people and are now interested in going to school to advance their learning. It is difficult to deny that caregivers are often participating in thankless roles, coming in to take care of an unknown or perhaps even a loved one, and making sure their needs are fulfilled. In many ways caregivers scholarships are designed to give back to those who give so much by allowing them to afford not only the time to go to school but also but also the appreciation which is so often lacking.
Because of the nature of the field, it is not surprising to find that there are a decent number of scholarships for caregivers available from various organizations across the United States both at the national and regional levels. Various criteria is used to determine eligibility – with the recent wars in Iraq and Afghanistan some caregiver scholarships are specifically reserved for wives or caregivers of injured soldiers while others may only be giving out monetary awards to those who fulfill caregiver duties for the elderly, infirm or dying. Students who perform caregiving work will find a plethora of scholarships for disability care available to them if they only take the time to look.
The Rosalyn Carter Institute of Caregiving provides multiple caregiver scholarships for disability care every year to deserving students. There are three different applicable programs which are the Matie J.T. Stepanek, John and Betty Pope caregiver scholarships, and the Georgia Caregiver of the Year Award. Each program gives out different amounts, have different due dates and differing eligibility requirements but all of them are great sources of financial aid from caregiver scholarships.
The Matie J.T. Stepanek caregiver scholarship is due every year by May 31, giving out a varying number of $2,500 awards. This program requires that students be looking for financial assistance for education or training for the purpose of expanding their caregiving skill sets. In essence this meant that this caregiver scholarship does not require students to be enrolled in degree seeking programs so long as they are expanding their general knowledge base and will be able to apply the skills they are learning.
Scholarships for caregivers are given out through the John and Betty Pope program award $3,500 to deserving students. All applicants are expected to be going to school for at least 12 credit hours, have at least a 3.0 grade point average and be prepared to work towards a caregiver specialist certificate. The money awarded in this program is renewable and students may be able to reapply in the following years. In order to submit materials by the deadline students will need to have their applications turned in no later than March 1.
The last Rosalyn Carter Institute of Caregiving scholarship which deserves mention is the Georgia Caregiver of the Year Award. This program is something which students will be able to apply to directly but also has an automatic submission process in which their applications are considered after submission to other programs. Students interested in this program will need to have a disability themselves while pursuing the caregiver profession of nursing. This caregiver scholarship for disability is awarded only once a year and is not renewable. It gives out awards in the amount of $500-750 and all materials must be turned in no later than June 1.
A really great program which gives out caregiver scholarships is the Hope for the Warriors Scholarships program. This caregiving scholarship gives out financial assistance to the spouses or caregivers of American injured soldiers. The program gives out five different awards twice a year for up to $5,000 as well as a sixth caregiver scholarship for $1,250. All of the available programs follow the same eligibility requirements. In order to apply students will need to be able to prove they are married to an injured American soldier, reside in the United States, be preparing to attend an accredited college and have at least a 2.6 grade point average. All applications are due no later than April 13.
AARP List of Scholarships for Family Caregivers
AARP has a nice listing of scholarships for Caregivers on their website, and is a must see. AARP is very relevant to this topic on caregivers, and is worth the time going to their website for further reading on the subject for added insight on the many facets on Family Caregiving. AARP is a United States based interest group that focuses on the elderly, especially on how they can continue to live well after retirement.
