Miles of Hope Awards Scholarships in Nine H.V. Counties

The Miles of Hope Breast Cancer Foundation with a mission to fund support services, education and outreach to anyone affected by breast cancer within the nine counties of the Hudson Valley, NY has awarded scholarships to students whose lives have been touched by this disease.

“Every year we award scholarships to worthy students who send in an application with an essay explaining how their life has been affected. Many times the student has lost a relative to breast cancer and often, the applicant will tell us that the relative recovered and they now appreciate her more than ever,” explained Miles of Hope Executive Director, Pari Forood.

“In 16 years, Miles of Hope has given away over $2 million dollars here in the Hudson Valley ($2,348,125) to people with breast cancer who need help buying food or paying bills or getting to their treatment. And the demand grows every year,” Ms. Forood added.
Cancer is one of the five most costly medical conditions forcing many patients to make decisions about their health based on their personal finances:

5% of insured cancer patients delayed treatment because of cost;

1 in 9 cancer patients have costs that exceed 20% of family income;

11% of cancer patients cannot pay for food/necessities while paying for cancer treatment;

25% of cancer patients use all or most of their savings on treatment.

In May 2020, 14 scholarships were awarded in the Hudson Valley. A committee of Miles of Hope Board Members, former Board members, teachers both retired and active, and breast cancer survivors make the decisions on who receives a scholarship. All students must be residents of one of the nine counties of the Hudson Valley and the criteria are listed on the Miles of Hope website: https://milesofhope.org/programs/college-scholarship-fund/

“In this difficult year when many high school seniors did not get to attend a graduation ceremony, we are happy to give them some good news and help them on their way to a bright future,” Ms. Forood said. Listed by county:

Columbia County
* Delana Bonci from Taconic Hills Junior/Senior high school will receive a $2000 Miles of Hope scholarship to further her studies in engineering at RPI.

Dutchess County
* Ava Zorillo from Roy C. Ketcham high school will receive a $2000 Miles of Hope scholarship to study health sciences at Pace University in Pleasantville, NY.
* Amande Schulte from John Jay Senior high school will receive a $2000 Miles of Hope scholarship to study at the CIA in Hyde Park.
* Isabella Minuta from Our Lady of Lourdes high school will receive a $2000 Miles of Hope scholarship to study pre-dental at the University of Tampa or Manhattan College.
* Aiden Davis from Beacon high school will receive a $2000 Miles of Hope scholarship to study history at SUNY Potsdam.
* Charlotte Howard from Syracuse University will receive a $1000 Miles of Hope scholarship to study film making for a year at the University of Sussex, England.
* Taylor Petrone from the Savannah College of Art and Design will receive a $1000 Miles of Hope scholarship to study beauty and fragrance marketing.
* Joseph Richard from Dutchess Community College will receive a $2000 Miles of Hope scholarship to study engineering at DCC.
* Carter Somme from DCC will receive a $1000 Miles of Hope scholarship to study liberal arts at Manhattanville or SUNY New Paltz.

Orange County
Emma Mozgiel from Cornwall Central high school will receive a $2000 Miles of Hope scholarship to study communications and journalism at the University of Rhode Island.

Rockland County
Olivia Csernecky from North Rockland high school will receive a $2000 Miles of Hope scholarship to study neuroscience at the University of South Carolina or Florida State.

Sullivan County
Andrea Decker from Tri-Valley Central School District will receive a $2000 Miles of Hope scholarship to study physical therapy at Shenandoah University

Ulster County
* Helanna Bratman from SUNY Ulster will receive 2 Miles of Hope scholarships totaling $4000 to study nursing at SUNY Ulster.

Westchester County
* Maeve Verna from Westlake high school will receive a $2000 Miles of Hope scholarship to study Spanish at a University of her choosing.