Legacy Scholarship tries again for grant

For the second consecutive month, The American Legion Legacy Scholarship Fund is competing for a $250,000 grant to be awarded by the Pepsi Beverage Co. as part of its Refresh Everything Project.While Pepsi did not announce just where the Legacy Scholarship Fund finished in its May voting competition, the top two charities win the grants and the remaining top 100 are “rolled over” to participate in the next month’s competition. During the evening of May 31, The Legacy Scholarship was ranked 49th of 1,341 participating charities.The American Legion’s Operation Comfort Warriors finished in first place during February’s voting and has already been awarded the top grant of $250,000.“While I am disappointed that The American Legion Legacy Scholarship Fund did not win a grant, I am not surprised that we apparently finished in the top tier,” National Commander Clarence E. Hill said. “If The American Legion family and all of our friends support this great cause, we can do better in June. “Operation Comfort Warriors finished first in February. This is not about the same organization winning twice. It’s about assisting an entirely different group of deserving people: those whose parents paid the ultimate price and sacrificed their lives while serving in our military during the war on terrorism. The American Legion Legacy Scholarship Fund ensures that the children of these fallen heroes will be able to attend college and not have to worry about the rising cost of higher education. We can support the children of these heroes simply by voting every day throughout the month of June. The process will cost you nothing, but the reward can truly make a difference.”Visitors can cast their votes online or by clicking on the “Vote Daily” Pepsi panel at www.legion.org.Hill also recommended that Legionnaires, Legion family members, friends and supporters of The American Legion spread the message to vote for The American Legion Legacy Scholarship Fund.“Individual voting alone will not win this competition,” Hill said. “We need people to post it on their Web sites, Facebook and Twitter accounts. They should use all social-media methods at their disposal. Operation Comfort Warriors was able to win because American Legion posts, Auxiliary units, Sons of the American Legion squadrons and American Legion Riders chapters all came together and worked toward a common goal. Spreading the word in newsletters and the mainstream media can also help us replicate our earlier success.”