Lyndsay Fogarty
Wyndham Vacation Ownership (WVO) announced a $1 million contribution to the Step Up For Students Scholarship Program, which will provide 171 scholarships for low-income Florida students for the 2015-16 school year.
Step Up For Students allows recipients to choose between scholarships that help with private school tuition and fees or that assist with transportation costs to out-of-county public schools. “One of the best ways to enrich a child’s life is through a great education,” Doug Tuthill, president of Step Up For Students, says. “We are thrilled to have Wyndham Vacation Ownership as a partner in our quest to provide opportunities for educational choice to Florida families.”
Wyndham Vacation Ownership has been a donor and corporate partner of Step Up For Students since 2011, contributing a total of $3.75 million to benefit the Florida Tax Credit Scholarship Program. “As one of our company’s core values, we feel strongly that it is our responsibility to do what we can to improve the world around us,” Sarah King, executive vice president of human resources at WVO, says. “We are proud to continue our support of a great organization like Step Up For Students that truly changes the lives of children through the power of education. This valuable program also continues to make a lasting impact within our own Wyndham family. During the 2015-16 school year, 70 Step Up For Students scholarships were awarded to the children of families employed by Wyndham Worldwide, WVO’s parent company.”
During this school year, Step Up For Students expects to serve more than 77,000 students attending about 1,540 participating schools throughout Florida. In Orange County, 124 schools and more than 7,300 students participate in the program.
