Message from the Board of Directors

Chairman & Founder

From the humble beginning of holding fundraising events in a warehouse, Stars Scholarship Fund is proud to begin its 20th year serving the students from our community.

Last year, through our thirty counties, Stars Scholarship Fund awarded over $1.4 million to 702 students. We could not have accomplished this without the dedication of our generous donors and the personal dedication of our board of directors, volunteers, and staff.

Today our organization is faced with many difficult challenges. Many of our potential donors are facing a difficult business environment, donors must be selective of where they invest their funds and students are struggling with ever-increasing tuition costs.

However, as we face these challenges, we realize that our work is more important now than ever before. Stars Scholarship Fund was founded by Mr. Joe LaMantia, Jr.†, and his family with the conviction that an educated citizen is essential to the growth and future success of our community.

A college education is an extraordinarily profitable investment in not only for the individual but to our community. Many studies show that, compared to high-school graduates, college graduates have greater economic stability and security and greater community service and leadership.

Data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics makes clear that students do not get much of an economic lift from college attendance unless they complete a degree or an undergraduate certificate. Texas needs to continue its record of generating growth in undergraduate degree and certificate production at all colleges and universities—private, public, and for-profit.

We also know that the amount of debt a student incurs can have a lasting impact on a student’s life after college. Concerns about college costs and loan debt also can affect the student’s decision to attend and persist in higher education. Therefore, scholarship programs like ours have become increasingly important for students.

Over the years, our non-profit has remained steadfast in our mission of assisting students from our community to obtain a higher education. Stars Scholarship Fund continues to be recognized as one of the most trusted scholarship organizations in our community.

Supporting Stars Scholarship Fund is a worthy investment for you and our community.