Online Vote Highlights Financial Hardship Many Young People Face When a Parent Dies With Little or No Life Insurance

ARLINGTON, Va., July 14 /PRNewswire/ -- Beginning today, the nonprofit LIFE Foundation is inviting the public to cast its vote to help determine which of three college-age students is most deserving of one of the top scholarships in its LIFE Lessons Scholarship Program. The LIFE Foundation awards scholarships to students who are struggling to pay for college because their parents died with little or no life insurance. The three young people whose videos are included in the online vote have already been awarded $2,500 scholarships from the LIFE Foundation. The young person whose story receives the most online votes will receive an additional $2,500 in scholarship money. Votes can be cast at www.lifehappens.org/vote. The deadline to vote is Friday, Aug. 13, 2010 at 5 p.m. Eastern.

The students featured in the online vote are:

• Mashell Ewing, Berkeley, CA – Growing up in a single-parent home, Mashell's mother was everything to her and her siblings. When her mother died suddenly of a heart attack, there was no life insurance to help provide for her family's financial needs. She and her brother were forced to take on jobs to pay rent and other bills, as well as care for their younger sister. College seemed unaffordable. However, when Mashell was accepted to the University of California, Berkeley, she was determined to attend and become the first person in her family to earn a college degree. Through a combination of student loans and income she earns working two jobs, Mashell is pursuing her dream of a college education.
• Giavanna Ficarra, Aptos, CA – When Giavanna's father was shot and killed in a dispute with a neighbor, Giavanna didn't just lose her father, she lost her best friend. Her father also took with him her source of stability and financial security. Her father had not renewed his life insurance policy the year he died and he didn't have a will, leaving her and her sisters with nothing. To provide for herself, Giavanna has taken on jobs singing in nightclubs and working in restaurants. Getting a college education is important to her and although she doesn't have any financial support, she isn't letting that get in her way. She's currently attending Ithaca College in upstate New York, and hopes to pursue a music career.
• Massih Zaboli, Mableton, GA – When Massih's father lost his battle with stomach cancer, his family found themselves in financial trouble. His father did not have life insurance to help support them financially. Massih became the man of his house playing father and brother to his younger sister, while his mother worked overtime at her retail sales job. He also worked many hours after school to pay for his personal expenses and help contribute to the household. Eventually, he moved with his family to Atlanta from Chicago to live with his uncle until they could get back on their feet financially. Massih initially enrolled in community college and later transferred to Georgia Tech to study industrial engineering. He has been working hard to finance his education through work and loans.

"Watching these young people tell their stories reminds us of how critically important it is for parents to include life insurance in their financial plans," said Marvin H. Feldman, CLU, ChFC, LIFE's president and CEO. "We are very proud to provide students, who have faced great hardship in their lives, with support in pursuing their educational ambitions. In addition to lending a hand to these and other deserving young people, our hope is that parents will watch the videos featured on our website and be motivated to evaluate their own life insurance needs. No parent would want to see their children struggle as much as the students who apply to our scholarship program have struggled."  

The three students featured in the online vote are among more than 1,400 who applied for scholarships this year. In the LIFE Lessons application form, students are asked to answer a series of questions regarding the financial impact of losing their mom or dad at a young age and the findings are sobering. For instance, 88 percent said losing a parent or guardian had a "significant" to "very significant" financial impact on their family. For many, grieving was compounded by their families' struggles to make ends meet, pay funeral costs and other bills, or simply put food on their tables. Nearly six in 10 applicants said the deaths of their parents or guardians resulted in their families moving to less expensive housing; half said their surviving parents or guardians had to take on additional jobs or work longer hours; and 47 percent said their families had to turn to friends and family for financial help.

This year, LIFE will award 59 scholarships totaling $105,000. The winner of the online vote, as well as the other 2010 scholarship recipients, will be announced in September 2010. For more information about the LIFE Lessons Scholarship Program, visit www.lifehappens.org/lifelessons. To vote for the top scholarship recipient in the Video Entry category, visit www.lifehappens.org/vote.

About the LIFE Lessons Scholarship Program

The LIFE Lessons Scholarship Program is open to young people between ages 17 and 24, who have experienced the death of a parent or legal guardian, and are currently enrolled in, or have been accepted to, a college, university or trade school. Applications are solicited in the spring and scholarship recipients are notified in the summer.  LIFE accepts individual, tax-deductible donations for the LIFE Lessons Scholarship Fund online at www.lifehappens.org/donate. For more information, visit www.lifehappens.org/lifelessons.

About LIFE

The Life and Health Insurance Foundation for Education (LIFE) was founded in 1994 in response to the public's growing need for information and education on life, health, disability and long-term care insurance. LIFE also seeks to remind people of the important role insurance professionals perform in helping families, businesses and individuals find the insurance products that best fit their needs. To learn more about these topics, please visit www.lifehappens.org.

SOURCE LIFE Foundation