Even with hundreds of millions of dollars in scholarship money and education benefits available for spouses and children of fallen service members, many of those families struggle to pay for college because they don’t know the benefits exist, or have trouble accessing them, a nonprofit group says.
So the group, the Tragedy Assistance Program for Survivors, has announced its new program offering an online portal at www.taps.org/edu/ to help families identify scholarships and education benefits, as well as get one-on-one guidance through the maze.
Since a pilot program began in January, TAPS has helped 420 survivors with their education benefits, said Bonnie Carroll, the group’s CEO and founder, at an event in Washington, D.C., announcing the new program, which in its pilot phase alone has helped 140 widows and children submit information and applications.
“This is just the beginning,” Carroll said. “For these families, it means the dream of education is now possible.”
The public-private partnership between TAPS, the Veterans Affairs Department, the 45 states that have educational benefits of some kind for the families of the fallen, private organizations providing scholarships, and companies that have contributed to the effort “will ensure all education resources available to these children are now fully accessed,” said Carroll, who founded TAPS following the death of her husband, Army Brig. Gen. Tom Carroll, in a 1992 military plane crash.
She credited two family members who “harnessed their pain, saw a need and took action” in creating the new program — Ashlynne Haycock and Tabitha Bonilla.
Haycock’s father, Army Sgt. 1st Class Jeffrey Haycock, died while serving in 2002, when she was 10. Her mother, Nichole, died in 2011 when Ashlynne was a junior at American University. Among the obstacles she faced with funding the remainder of her education, she said, was trying to get a $30,000 loan without a parent to co-sign for it. A number of lenders tried to convince her that a 9 percent or 10 percent interest rate was reasonable for a $30,000 loan.
In working with TAPS staffers to find college financial assistance, it became clear there was no central place to go for information about available scholarships. Then Bonnie Carroll suggested that Haycock, now 23, could come up with a solution to the problem.
Haycock said families have been grateful for the program, noting that case workers often help them fill out applications and work with VA and other organizations when there are glitches.
The portal also has been key, said Bonilla, whose husband, Army Capt. Orlando Bonilla, died in Iraq in January 2005 — just 11 months after her father, Army Sgt. 1st Class Henry Bacon, died in Iraq.
“Families are overwhelmed. They don’t know where to turn,” said Bonilla, who has been working with Haycock on the project and has had her own difficulties with education funding. While a senior at Campbell University in North Carolina, her funds from VA and private scholarships ran out, and she got a bill from the university for $12,000.
“I definitely didn’t know about states’ survivor education benefits,” she said. “I might have qualified for benefits in Texas.”
Of the 45 states that offer educational benefits of some kind for families of fallen service members, two-thirds fully waive tuition and/or fees, and most of the others offer full or partial scholarships. The TAPS program also informs families about federal benefits to assist spouses and children of the fallen, such as the Marine Gunnery Sgt. John D. Fry Scholarship and the Survivors and Dependents’ Educational Assistance program.
Seven-year-old Lina Caboteja, daughter of Marine Staff Sgt. Nick Caboteja Jr., said her father died when she was 3 years old. “I miss him a lot,” she said.
She’s now in second grade, and said she’s happy that she’ll be able to receive a scholarship “when I go to college to learn to become the president of the United States.”
Lina’s mother, Bridgette, said the TAPS portal has helped her see the range of available opportunities for her children.
“This is one less thing I have to worry about, and I know my husband would be glad his children are taken care of.”
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