100 Students Receive College Scholarships Totaling $200,000, Made Possible by BP Fueling Communities Grant Program

CHICAGO, June 14, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- Local BP station owners of New York and New Jersey will present a collective grant donation of $200,000 to the long-running BP Community Scholarship Program, which will provide 100 promising students with college scholarships in 2011. The grant donation will be presented at an event honoring the scholarship recipients on June 28.

This year's scholarship program was made possible by the support of BP and more than 180 local BP station owners in the New York and New Jersey area, resulting in the largest collective donation and the most award recipients since the program's inception 24 years ago.

"On behalf of the local area BP station owners, we are delighted to support students in our community and afford them the opportunity to reach for their dreams," said Turgay Kadioglu, BP gas station owner in Woodside, N.Y.  "We are dedicated to investing in the future of our community's youth in the neighborhoods where we operate."

Each scholarship recipient will receive $2,000 to be applied toward educational expenses for the 2011-2012 academic year.  Judges selected a diverse group of 100 deserving students from New York and New Jersey to receive scholarships based on personal statements, academic performance, extracurricular activities, work experience, individual goals and demonstrated financial need.

"The BP Scholarship Program has provided scholarships to several students at Half Hollow Hills High School West in Dix Hills, N.Y. over the years and we're so grateful that our local BP station owners are making a real difference in the lives of graduating seniors," said Maria Goldin, guidance counselor of Half Hollow Hills High School West. "With college tuition costs rising, the BP Scholarship Program has a big impact on the scholarship awardees' futures, helping to provide them the financial resources to attend college."

The large donation was made possible by BP's new Fueling Communities initiative, which provides grants to local organizations that are nominated by BP's Branded Marketers to support the communities in which they do business. The program gives back to local organizations that support education, health, youth, food and housing to spread charity and goodwill. BP's New York and New Jersey-based station owners elected to combine a portion of their available funding to donate it toward the BP Scholarship Program, a cause near and dear to their hearts.

Since the inception of the BP Scholarship Program in 1987, New York and New Jersey area station owners have provided nearly $2.5 million in scholarships to more than 1,600 promising students.

A dinner reception recognizing the 100 scholarship awardees will be held on Tuesday, June 28, at the New York Botanical Garden in the Bronx. Three-time United States Olympian and 2010 Gold Medalist in 4-man bobsled, Steve Mesler will be the keynote speaker at the event. Steve is also the Co-Founder, Executive Director of Classroom Champions, a non-profit organization that connects currently competing U.S. Olympic and Paralympic athletes with students to teach them how to embody the Olympic Ideals.

About BP

BP markets more than 15 billion gallons of gasoline every year to U.S. consumers through more than 11,000 BP and ARCO branded retail outlets and supplies more than four billion gallons of fuel annually to fleets, industrial users, auto and truck manufacturers, railroads and utilities. 

BP is the single, global brand formed by the combination of the former British Petroleum, Amoco Corporation, Atlantic Richfield (ARCO) and Burmah Castrol. BP is a global producer, manufacturer and marketer of oil, gas, chemicals and renewable energy sources. 

Media Contacts:

BP Products North America: Scott Dean, 630/821-3212, [email protected]
GolinHarris: Brett Cerf, 312/729-4278, [email protected]

SOURCE BP Products North America