Through the sixth annual Michigan Chronicle/TCF Bank S.W.A.G. (Students Wired for Achievement and Greatness Scholarship Awards, the bank will provide individual student scholarships up to $25,000 and $5,000 in classroom grants for area educators
TCF National Bank today announced that it has renewed its partnership with the Michigan Chronicle to provide scholarships to Detroit high school seniors through the Michigan Chronicle/TCF Bank S.W.A.G. (Students Wired for Achievement and Greatness) Scholarship Awards. The $100,000 scholarship program is aimed at students with grade point averages ranging from 2.25-3.2 who are passionate about leadership and community service. TCF – and its predecessors Chemical Bank and Talmer Bank – have invested more than $750,000 in the S.W.A.G. program and special events since its inception, with the goal of creating transformational impact in the communities it serves.
The 2021 program will award scholarships between $2,500 and $25,000 to 15 awardees. The program will also bestow five $1,000 school improvement grants to teachers, coaches, counselors, and other education support professionals at qualifying schools through the program’s Influential Educators Awards.
“TCF Banks believes the S.W.A.G. Scholarship Awards are an investment in the lives of Detroit young leaders and in the future of businesses and communities across the nation,” said Gary Torgow, Executive Chairman of TCF Financial Corporation. “Their potential is extraordinary and after six years of observing and working with these students, we know their boundaries are limitless.”
Launched in 2015, the bank created the S.W.A.G. Scholarship Awards to ensure that more Detroit students who demonstrate leadership in areas other than academics have access to scholarship dollars. The scholarship program is open to current high school seniors who live in Detroit and attend a Detroit Public School Community District high school or a charter school located within the city. Applying students must be planning to attend college or a trade school in the Fall of 2021.
“The cost of higher education, coupled with the added stresses of the COVID pandemic, places the opportunity out of reach for many of our children, says Hiram E. Jackson, publisher of the Michigan Chronicle. “That challenge is magnified exponentially for those students who despite demonstrating undeniable leadership skills, may not be the highest academic achievers. That’s where The S.W.A.G. Awards come in,” continues Jackson. “The S.W.A.G. Awards are about giving the average student who works hard, gives back, and shows leadership in other areas that extra push towards success.”
More than a financial award, the S.W.A.G. Scholarship program is an investment into the future leaders it identifies each year. Through the program, awardees are offered internships and other enrichment opportunities beyond their graduation from high school.
“The S.W.A.G scholarship award has impacted me in ways I could have never imagined,” said the 2020 top-prize recipient Gabriel Davenport. “I have gained the confidence to make a difference in the world. I’m currently a student at Notre Dame College, working on a degree in education to become a secondary history teacher in the near future.”
TCF Bank’s, commitment to the people and communities it serves is further highlighted through a number of investments in Detroit, including $5 million for the Grandmont Rosedale community through the Strategic Neighborhoods Fund. Through the SNF partnership, TCF has invested in a new $100,000 STEM lab for Cooke Elementary School, accessible play equipment for the neighborhood’s community center, and $25,000 in funding to aid small businesses and block clubs in the area.
Applications for the 2021 Michigan Chronicle/TCF Bank S.W.A.G. Scholarship Awards and Educators Award open February 15, 2021. The deadline for submissions is April 9, at 11:59 p.m. Students, teachers, and parents interested in learning more should visit www.michiganchronicle.com/swagawards.
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About TCF: TCF Financial Corporation (NASDAQ: TCF) is a Detroit, Michigan-based financial holding company with $48 billion in total assets at Dec. 31, 2020 and a top 10 deposit market share in the Midwest. TCF’s primary banking subsidiary, TCF National Bank, is a premier Midwest bank offering consumer and commercial banking, trust and wealth management, and specialty leasing and lending products and services to consumers, small businesses and commercial clients. TCF has approximately 470 branches primarily located in Michigan, Illinois and Minnesota with additional locations in Colorado, Ohio, South Dakota and Wisconsin. TCF also conducts business across all 50 states and Canada through its specialty lending and leasing businesses. To learn more about TCF, visit tcfbank.com.
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