Popular Award Winning College Scholarship Program Renewed for Another Ten Years:
Mayor Thomas M McDermott, Jr. announced that he and the Hammond City Council recently extended the College Bound Scholarship Program for another ten years. The extension ensures that the program will be in place through the 2035-36 school year. This means that a student currently in fifth grade is eligible for four years of college tuition assistance through the scholarship provided all program requirements are met. “The renewal of College Bound will continue to encourage home ownership in Hammond while giving a tremendous opportunity to our children who benefit from this highly successful scholarship program,” said Mayor McDermott.
The Common Council considered and passed the renewal at a recent City Council meeting. Mayor McDermott stated, “The City Council unanimously approved the ordinance, and I am more than happy to sign it. We all recognize the importance of this program and the benefits that it has for the City of Hammond.” The College Bound Scholarship program was initiated to focus on three key principals: increase home ownership, make education a priority, and improve the overall quality of life in Hammond. Mayor McDermott commented “I strongly believe that this program has stabilized the population in Hammond and helped to make Hammond the largest city in Lake County and the eighth largest city in Indiana.”
Since 2006 over 8,800 scholarship awards have been given to children of Hammond homeowners. There have been 1,680 awards that have been for all four years of college, helping many students achieve the goal of a college degree that may have otherwise been financially out of reach. College Bound recipients have attended 50 colleges and universities throughout Indiana. These recipients have completed more than 350,000 hours of community service to the City of Hammond as part of the requirements of the College Bound program. The College Bound program has been awarded two United States Conference of Mayors awards.
Applications for the scholarship are made available in January of each year in the College Bound Office or online at https://collegebound.gohammond.com/. The deadline for the applications and required documentation is July 3rd of each scholarship year. Students that will graduate high school in the spring of 2025 must meet all academic requirements and are required to provide official high school transcripts, proof of home ownership (through a county homestead exemption), proof of purchase date of the home in Hammond, proof of applying for federal and state financial aid (FAFSA), and an acceptance letter to an Indiana college or university. Returning college students are required to provide official college transcripts, continued proof of home ownership and proof of applying for federal and state financial aid.
“College Bound continues to be one of the most positive programs enacted since I have been mayor. I enjoy seeing our young people go to college, become college graduates, and show their leadership and commitment to education throughout our city,” said Mayor McDermott.