Foot Locker Foundation Unveils Recipients of Fourth Annual Foot Locker Scholar Athletes Program

NEW YORK, May 6, 2015 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Foot Locker Foundation, Inc., the charitable arm of Foot Locker, Inc., today announced the twenty recipients of the Foot Locker Scholar Athletes Program. Each student will receive $20,000 in college scholarships, totaling $400,000.

This year's program marks the largest applicant pool since its inception, with more than 30,000 student-athletes applying. The 2015 class of Foot Locker Scholar Athletes is made up of 20 inspiring students, many of whom have persevered to overcome challenges and invest in their communities through goodwill, while demonstrating academic excellence and leadership skills in their sport. The positive impacts and contributions to our society by this incredible group of talented student athletes range from the collection of over 1,800 shoes for underprivileged populations, to the founding of an inner-city kickball league aimed to help kids deal with issues of low self-esteem, to the development of a cancer awareness program that encourages student athletes to get screened for cancer.

The rising cost of college tuition makes it difficult for students, even all-star scholars to fund their college careers without taking out loans. About 70 percent of 2013 graduates left college with an average of $28,400 in debt[1]- and this amount is likely to continue to rise for the class of 2019.

"We recognize the tremendous potential of our 20 winners and want to help them achieve their higher education goals while awarding them the opportunity to continue doing the work that they are passionate about, and, in so doing, make the world a better place," states Richard A. Johnson, President and Chief Executive Officer of Foot Locker, Inc. "These 20 student-athletes are ambitious, intelligent, and well-rounded individuals, and nothing should stand between them and their future success."

Following are this year's 20 winners, who will join the program's previous three classes of 20 Foot Locker Scholar Athletes, totaling 80 scholarship recipients in its fourth year.

To read more on these incredible winners visit https://footlockerscholarathletes.com/

The Foot Locker Scholar Athletes Program is a part of the Foot Locker Foundation, Inc., the charitable arm of Foot Locker, Inc., which provides monetary support for educational and sports programs across the country. Supporting this all-star program is Fastweb, a trusted scholarship and financial aid resource used by students to help find opportunities to pay for school.

About Foot Locker Foundation, Inc.:
Founded in 2001, The Foot Locker Foundation, Inc. is the charitable arm of Foot Locker, Inc., a specialty athletic retailer that operates approximately 3,500 stores in 23 countries in North America, Europe, Australia and New Zealand. The Foundation's mission is to promote a better world for today's youth by creating, developing, and supporting innovative educational programs and encouraging health and well-being through physical activity. Since its inception, the Foundation has developed significant partnerships, programs, and initiatives to improve and enrich communities nationwide.

About Fastweb:
Fastweb, a top site in the Monster Worldwide (NYSE:MWW) network, is the nation's recognized leader in helping students pay for school, by providing scholarship and financial aid information, as well as information on jobs and internships. One out of three college-bound seniors use the site, and more than 50 million users have benefitted from Fastweb's information and services. Fastweb lets students create personalized profile that can be matched against its expansive databases of colleges and scholarships. As the oldest and most popular free online scholarship matching service, the database has more than 1.5 million scholarships totaling over $3.4 billion. To learn more about Fastweb, visit http://www.fastweb.com and follow on Twitter at @PayingForSchool.

[1] U.S. News (http://www.usnews.com/news/articles/2014/11/13/average-student-loan-debt-hits-30-000)

SOURCE Foot Locker Foundation, Inc.

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