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Builders Establish Memorial to Virginia Tech Victims
To honor the memory of the students and faculty who lost their lives at the Virginia Tech campus in Blacksburg on April 16, the Home Builders Association of Virginia (HBAV) Educational Foundation has established a permanent endowed scholarship for students enrolled in the building construction program at the university’s Myers-Lawson School of Construction.
“The Virginia Tech Memorial Scholarship serves both as a permanent memorial to those who lost their lives on that tragic day, and as a sign of the commitment of Virginia’s building industry to invest in our future,” said Douglas R. Fahl, chairman of the board of trustees of the HBAV Educational Foundation.
To help fund the endowment, which carries a minimum goal of $100,000, the foundation issued a matching contribution challenge to its membership. The foundation is matching, dollar for dollar, contributions made by HBAV members up to $50,000 total.
Announced June 1, the memorial has already received close to $20,000 in donations.
“Our members and their families have very strong ties to Virginia Tech, as do builders around the country who have graduated from its building construction program,” said Jim Bonnell, director of member benefit services for the HBAV insurance program. “This is a very important memorial to them.”
The HBAV Educational Foundation was established in 1989 to provide aid to deserving students enrolled in housing-related studies at Virginia’s colleges and universities and to help create the future leaders of Virginia’s housing industry.
The foundation has a strong relationship with the Myers-Lawson School of Construction, having previously established two $2,500 scholarships to students each semester. The permanent endowed scholarship will provide a full scholarship for one student each year.
To Contribute
Tax-deductible contributions can be made to the Virginia Tech Memorial Scholarship by mailing a check made out to the “Virginia Tech Foundation” to:
HBAV Educational Foundation
707 East Franklin St.
Richmond, Va. 23219
A reply card for donations made by credit card can be downloaded from the HBAV Web site at www.hbav.com.
For more information on the scholarship, e-mail Jim Bonnell at jbonnell@hbav.com, or call him at 804-643-2797.
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