The New Hope for Kids Scholarship was created to support young people in our grief support programs who have faced loss and hardship but remain determined to pursue their dreams. This scholarship offers financial assistance to college-bound students who have participated in New Hope for Kids’ grief programs within the past five years.
New Hope for Kids offers an annual scholarship, which provides financial support to students who have attended our Grief or Wish programs in the past five years.
Each year, the New Hope for Kids Scholarship awards financial support to Central Florida students who have shown resilience in the face of adversity. Scholarships are granted based on a combination of:
High school academic achievement
Personal character
Financial hardship or demonstrated need
Eligible applicants must have participated in New Hope for Kids’ Grief or Wish programs within the past five years.
To submit by mail, please download the application below and mail with all additional documents to:
New Hope for Kids
New Hope For Kids Scholarship Application
544 Mayo Ave.
Maitland, FL 32751
For the purpose of simplification, the word “college” will represent “university, college and/or technical school.”
Students applying for this scholarship:
We are honored to introduce you to the 2024 recipients:
Delaney Clark, 21, is currently enrolled at Florida State University. She and her brother, Gavin, were brought to New Hope for Kids by her father when she was 6 years old after the death of their mother. Tragedy struck in 2017 when Kevin was killed at a workplace shooting, leaving Delaney and Gavin without parents. Thankfully, their father had named close family friends as guardians in his will. Delaney was exposed to psychology and social work in high school and college classes. “I know in my heart helping people is my passion and I hope to continue to persevere and follow this path.”
Eric Ott, 22, is enrolled at Denison University, Ohio pursuing his BA degree. Eric came to New Hope for Kids at age 3 after his father died. As a young man, his involvement with soccer and desire to help others caused him to build his own non-profit that has distributed donated equipment to children in need from California to Kenya. The process of building KickItAgain took 4 years of hard work and determination. Eric said, “Nothing pleasing comes easy in this life, so one should never pursue what is easy, only what is meaningful.” Eric is sure that whatever he does in the future will involve helping humanity.
Carter Wegman, 18, is attending the University of Florida pursuing a BFA in Musical Theater. He and his brother, Jack, attended New Hope for Kids after the death of their father when Carter was only 3 years old. Carter shared that he was drawn to theater at a young age because it gave him the opportunity to experience other versions of life that were absent of problems and loss. He now realizes that “grief isn’t an obstacle, it’s a part of life.” Carter plans to always be involved in theater because it was his first outlet for grief. “It’s my happy place and having the opportunity to have a career in it means everything to me.”
Jack Wegman, 20, first experienced grief when he was 5 years old after his father’s death. He and his brother, Carter, attended New Hope for Kids together. Having recently experienced the loss of his grandfather, Jack is now seeing grief through the eyes of a young man. He said he knows that his father and grandfather would both want him to continue forward, and that they would have confidence in his future success. As life continues to change, Jack has decided to enroll as a full-time student at Orlando Technical College in the Diesel System Technician Program.
New Hope for Kids provides support to children and families grieving the loss of a loved one and fulfills the wishes of children with life-threatening conditions. Dedicated to healing hearts and fostering hope, we empower our community through comprehensive support programs and transformative experiences.
