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January 17, 2017

Scholarships for Young Men - Application Window: March 1 - April 15

We are pleased to announce the Ellis-Wade Scholarship for Young Men, the Terrence Mixon Scholarship for Young Men, and the Sims-Fayola Foundation Scholarship for Young Men to be awarded in May 2017. We will award three, $500, scholarships to provide outstanding young men the financial support needed to complete an undergraduate college education in any discipline area of their choice.

The application window for all three scholarships opens on March 1, 2017, and closes on April 15, 2017.  The online application and checklist will be made available on the Sims-Fayola Foundation’s website, www.sffoundation.org, on March 1st.  Selection will be based on demonstrated leadership, scholarship, and essays. Additionally, finalists will be required to participate in a virtual interview on April 30th.

Application materials include:
  • Three Essays
  • Copy of College/University Acceptance Letter
  • Resume
  • Copy of Official High School Transcript
·         Two Letters of Recommendation

The Terrence Mixon Scholarship for Young Men is available to graduating high school seniors residing in Mobile, Alabama.  This scholarship is to honor Mr. Mixon who believed in Dedrick Sims, offering him his first opportunity to teach at Lillie B. Williamson High School in Mobile.  Principal Mixon allowed Sims to grow as an educator under his tutelage where Dedrick started the Young Men of Distinction Program.  Mr. Mixon now serves as the Executive Director of Student Support Services for Mobile County Public Schools.

The Ellis-Wade Scholarship for Young Men is available to graduating high school seniors residing in Pine Bluff, Arkansas.  This scholarship is to honor two women who raised a visionary and educational architect, Dedrick Sims, Founder/CEO of the Sims-Fayola Foundation.  Ms. Brenda Diane Ellis, the late mother of Dedrick Sims, and Ms. Betty Wade, his grandmother, embody strength, grit, resilience, and determination that inspire his work as he leads the foundation.

The Sims-Fayola Foundation Scholarship for Young Men is available to graduating high school seniors residing in the Denver or Atlanta Metropolitan areas. The three pillars that support the work of the foundation are: Advocacy and Awareness, Capacity Building, and Education.  Hence, this scholarship will be awarded to a young man who embodies and demonstrates their leadership by advocating for others, serves as a leader in their community committed to building the capacity of others, and values the importance of education.

About the Sims-Fayola Foundation
The Sims-Fayola Foundation (www.sffoundation.org) is a Colorado non-profit organization with a mission to improve the life outcomes of urban males in K-12 grades.  The Sims-Fayola Foundation was founded, in August of 2014, by Dedrick Sims as a broader strategic plan to improve the life outcomes of urban males through advocacy and awareness, capacity building, and education.  As a visionary, school founder, and educational architect, Dedrick witnessed the plight of young men within the school environment and realized the complexity of solutions needed to change the trajectory of urban males must extend beyond the school walls.  Hence, he began to see with greater clarity the need for an organization focused on developing a comprehensive strategy, working in unison with other organizations, and build the capacity of educators to serve young men to change the life outcomes of urban males in K-12 grades. The Sims-Fayola Foundation seeks to effect change to the myriad of dismal statistics that are associated with urban males as it relates to life outcomes and school success.