Kristen Wood one of 25 winners in region, 352 nationwide
Kroger Central Division announced Aug. 18 that Kristen Wood of Westfield received a Kroger Scholars award of $1,000.
Kristen is the daughter of Virginia Wood, an associate at the 150 W. 161st St. location. She will be a freshman at Purdue University majoring in Science.
“Strong support of education should be a priority for every corporate citizen; K-12 education is one of five national priorities for The Kroger Co. and in Central Division, we place a special emphasis on this particular priority,” said Kroger Central Division President Jeff Burt. “Back in February 2014, we launched a $4.9 million, three-year, K-12 education strategy and we are pleased that this year, our strategy includes providing scholarships to 25 children of Kroger Central Division associates.
“Our decision to support education goes back more than 100 years and is motivated by two priorities: improving the educational opportunities available to our children and building the best possible workforce for our future. We are very proud of Kristen’s academic accomplishments and other achievements and it is our privilege to honor her this way.”
As a company-wide program of The Kroger Co. Foundation, Kroger Scholars is open to children of associates in the Kroger family. To qualify, employees must have two years of service and work at least 1,000 hours per year. For the 2015-16 school year, 352 students across the nation will receive a scholarship. Funds can be used at any accredited two or four-year college, university or vocational program. Scholarship America, a leading national scholarship manager, selected recipients based on a broad range of criteria including scholastic performance, work experience, extra-curricular and volunteer activities; a personal statement of goals and aspirations was also required. Financial need was not a consideration and there were no internal personnel from The Kroger Co. involved in the selection process.
