VERSAILLES, Ky. — Kentucky Community and Technical College System announced the gift of a $100,000 scholarship award from the Honorable Order of Kentucky Colonels to help offset tuition costs for working parents and first-generation college students.

The gift marks the 20-year mark for the partnership between KCTS and the colonels. Funds will go to the KY Colonels Better Life Scholarship, which provides tuition awards to eligible students within KCTCS who are single parents with children under 12 years old. The scholarship focuses on working parents and first-generation college students. Recipients are eligible to receive awards for up to four semesters, with a maximum of $1,500 per semester.

“The Board of Trustees, in 2003, had a goal to help individuals better their lives while making a positive impact on families. The Better Life Scholarship with KCTCS is accomplishing that goal,” said Sherry Crose, executive director of the Honorable Order of Kentucky Colonels. “On behalf of the Trustees and over 30,000 Kentucky Colonels, we believe in KCTCS students and know that they are the future of the commonwealth.”

“The Honorable Order of Kentucky Colonels’ commitment to supporting education for these single, working parents has made a profound impact on the lives of numerous students and families across the entire KCTCS System and will continue to do so for generations,” said Scott Tracy, assistant vice president for philanthropy and executive director of the KCTCS Foundation. “We are so honored and thankful to be able to partner with the Colonels in a testament to the transformative power of higher education.”

Since its inception in 2003, the Honorable Order of Kentucky Colonels has donated $1,655,000 to the Better Life Scholarship, supporting 475 students with scholarships.