News

William Paterson University Receives $200,000 for Scholarships From the Give Something Back Foundation

Gift will provide support for 10 students with financial need to attend William Paterson University for four years

William Paterson University in Wayne, New Jersey, has received a $200,000 donation from the Give Something Back Foundation (Give Back) that will provide 10 students from northern New Jersey with the opportunity to attend William Paterson and graduate in four years.

The gift was announced during a reception on the William Paterson University campus by Robert Carr, founder and chairman of Give Back, which is focused on providing scholarships to students of modest means to help them realize their full potential by achieving a college education.

“Give Back is excited to expand its scholarship program in New Jersey and provide our scholars with the option of receiving a college degree in four years from William Paterson University—an institution that shares our vision of making a college education available to qualified students of modest means,” said Carr.

“Scholarship support can be transformative for students in need of financial support who are seeking to make higher education a priority,” says Kathleen Waldron, president of William Paterson University.  “We are grateful to Robert Carr and the Give Something Back Foundation for their generous gift in support of students whose hard work in high school will make them eligible for a scholarship-supported William Paterson University education in the future.” 

Give Back is currently recruiting ninth graders throughout the state to apply to its program, as well as mentors to support accepted students through high school. For more information, visit www.giveback.ngo.

About Give Something Back Foundation

Give Back works with high school administrators and community leaders to select ninth graders who show academic promise and whose family income level qualifies them to receive a Federal Pell Grant.

The goal of Give Back is to help students who may not have considered college an achievable option to get the guidance and financial support they need to complete a college degree in four years, debt free.

Give Back pairs selected students with trained adult mentors who support the students through the challenges of high school years at home and in the classroom, thus preparing them for the rigors of a four-year college education. Mentors help students navigate the process of college admissions and Give Back provides its high school graduates with a scholarship so they can graduate from college with no debt for tuition and fees or room and board at one of its partner universities or colleges.

To learn more about the Give Something Back Foundation, visit https://www.giveback.ngo. Those interested in volunteering their time as a mentor apply can apply at https://www.giveback.ngo/mentors/.

Visit Give Back at: Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and Instagram.

About Robert Carr

While a student growing up in Lockport, Ill., Carr received a $250 scholarship from a local women’s club that helped him attend the University of Illinois-Champaign/Urbana. Carr was so inspired and appreciative that he vowed then to give back to other college students and has done so through the Give Something Back Foundation.

Carr’s business successes include Heartland Payment Systems, a Fortune 1000 company and one of the largest payment processors in the United States. On April 25, 2016, Global Payments Inc., an Atlanta-based worldwide provider of payment technology services, announced it completed its merger with Heartland. Currently, Carr devotes his time to the Give Something Back Foundation, which was established in 2003 and incorporated in 2006.

Carr is the author of Through the Fires: An American Story of Turbulence, Business Triumph and Giving Back, and the upcoming Working Class to College: The Promise and Peril Facing Blue-Collar America.

Visit Bob Carr at: Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn.

About William Paterson University

William Paterson University is a leading public university in New Jersey with more than 11,000 students enrolled in undergraduate and graduate academic programs offered by five academic colleges: Arts and Communication, Cotsakos College of Business, Education, Humanities and Social Sciences, and Science and Health. Located on 370 hilltop acres in Wayne, the university offers a wide range of learning opportunities in its classrooms, laboratories and studios, and provides housing for nearly 2,700 students. The institution’s 406 full-time faculty are highly distinguished and diverse scholars and teachers, including 41 Fulbright scholars and recipients of numerous other awards, grants, and fellowships. The institution’s nearly 73,000 alumni can be found throughout New Jersey, the nation, and the world.