Tom Joyner Foundation, Denny's Recognize Single Parent Scholars at Black Colleges

Since January, the Foundation and Denny's have distributed more than $32k in Scholarships help parents finish their college education.

Dallas, TX, July 10, 2009 --(PR.com)-- The Tom Joyner Foundation and Denny’s have awarded nearly $32,000 to 21 single parent scholars attending black colleges as part of a year long effort to help the parents complete their college education.

The partnership, which started last year, provides winners of the Tom Joyner Foundation® and Denny’s Single Parent Student Scholarship $1,500 grants toward their education at Historically Black Colleges & Universities (HBCUs). A new grant winner is awarded every week in 2009. The students hail from cities large and small all around the country, including Richmond, VA, Talladega, AL, Winston, NC and Dover, DE.

“This partnership with Denny’s has been huge reason why single parents at our black colleges are completing their education,” said Tom Joyner, the nationally syndicated media personality and host of the Tom Joyner Morning Show, who created the Foundation in 1998 to help keep students enrolled in HBCUs. “During a time when many companies have been cutting back, Denny’s has stepped it up, and it really making a difference.”

April Kelly-Drummond, Denny's Director of Corporate Diversity, said, “The partnership with the Tom Joyner Foundation® helps Denny’s further their commitment to building strong families, promoting community service and advancing educational opportunities. The scholarship program helps single-parent students further their education, providing greater opportunities for their own families and advancing the community as a whole."

According to the United States Census Bureau, the number of single-parent families has steadily increased during the past five years. In 2006, there were more than 2.9 million single-parent, African American families in the United States. In 2004, the National Center for Education Statistics found that 30% of all students currently enrolled in a degree-granting institution were minorities, a 16% increase in the last 30 years.

The single parent scholarship is awarded each week to a single parent attending the Tom Joyner Foundation’s “School of the Month.” This joint partnership is a reflection of Denny’s and the Tom Joyner Foundation’s shared belief that a commitment to higher education is the key to a better workforce and improved conditions for all communities.

Since January, Denny’s and the Foundation have provided scholarships to students from Virginia Union University, Richmond, VA; Lincoln University, Jefferson City, MO; Winston Salem State University, Winston Salem, NC; Allen University, Columbia, SC; Talladega College, Talladega, AL; and Delaware State University, Dover, DE. For the remainder of the year, selected single parent students will receive scholarships from Langston University, Langston, OK; University of Maryland Eastern Shore, Princess Anne, MD; Alabama A&M University, Huntsville, AL; Clark Atlanta University, Atlanta, GA and Norfolk State University, Norfolk, VA.

About the Tom Joyner Foundation:
Founded in 1998, the Tom Joyner Foundation has focused on its primary mission of helping to keep students enrolled in Historically Black Colleges & Universities (HBCUs). The Foundation has raised more than $55 million to help keep students enrolled in black colleges and has assisted more than 14,000 students and worked with more than 100 HBCUs. Throughout the week, the Foundation announces scholarship winners on the nationally syndicated radio show hosted by its founder, Tom Joyner. Each week, separate financial awards are focused on students who are single parents and “The Herc”, which is for black male students at the foundation’s ‘Schools of the Month’. The organization’s largest annual fundraiser is its “Fantastic Voyage”™, which is a seven-day, six-night cruise that raises more than $1 million a year.

About Denny’s:
Denny’s is America’s largest full-service family restaurant chain, with more than 1,500 locations. For more than 50 years, Denny’s has been serving up real breakfast 24/7. Home of the famous Grand Slam® breakfast Denny’s provides a variety of flavorful food and beverage choices. For more information on Denny’s, please visit www.dennys.com.

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Tom Joyner Foundation
Neil Foote
214 448 3765
www.blackamericaweb.com/?q=tjfoundation
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