The Michaels Organization Educational Foundation, a non-profit affiliate of The Michaels Organization, has awarded $792,000 in scholarships for the 2024/2025 academic school year to 84 residents living in Michaels’ military housing communities.
The scholarships awarded to Michaels’ military residents are part of the record-breaking $2 million that Michaels announced in June as being awarded to residents of military and affordable communities owned or managed by The Michaels Organization.
“It’s an incredible honor to serve our military families and to be given the opportunity to help them further their education,” said Mark Morgan, Chief Executive Officer of The Michaels Organization. “It is exactly what our promise of Lifting Lives is all about.”
The Michaels Organization has been partnering with the Department of Defense since 2004. This year’s military living scholars come from 11 military installations in states including Arizona, California, Florida, Georgia, Kansas, Maryland, and Virginia. Michaels currently owns and manages over 18,000 privatized military homes in these locations.
One of this year’s scholars is Lun Joy Hewang from Desert Oasis Communities at Yuma Proving Ground in Arizona. At just 16 years old, Hewang earned her high school diploma and an associate degree in biology in 2024. She is now studying biochemistry at The University of Arizona with the goal of becoming an astrobiologist.
The Michaels Organization Educational Foundation provides grants to residents for higher education at any accredited college, university, or vocational training program in the nation. Scholarships are awarded annually, and students may reapply each year of their undergraduate education for continuing grants. The Foundation has awarded over $5 million in scholarships to residents of Michaels’ military communities since 2006, and $16 million overall across Michaels’ portfolio.
All foundation funds are raised through voluntary contributions by corporations, companies, families, private trusts, and individuals within The Michaels Organization’s business network. These donations are then matched $2 for every $1 by The Michaels Organization’s founder and Chairman Michael J. Levitt and his wife Pat Levitt.
Ceremonies honoring scholars at Michaels’ military communities are planned throughout the summer. Additionally, a separate program designed specifically for residents of Michaels’ student living communities will open for applications later this year.
