Our Heroes Foundation has established the Captain Coy L. Sykes Memorial Scholarship Program to assist the children of Hillsborough County Public Safety Personnel, Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office or Tampa Police Department who plan to continue their education in college or vocational school programs. The scholarship program was named after the father of Sykes’ Founder, John H. Sykes, and grandfather of Sykes’ President and Chief Executive Officer, Chuck E. Sykes.
Coy Sykes retired as Captain of the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department. While Captain Sykes was unable to provide a college education for his children on the salary of a law enforcement officer, the Captain Coy L. Sykes Memorial Scholarship, sponsored by Our Heroes Foundation, has provided thousands of dollars every year to help numerous students achieve their educational aspirations. Scholarships are offered each year for full-time study at an accredited institution of the student’s choice.
This program is administered by Scholarship America®, the nation’s largest designer and manager of scholarship, tuition assistance and other education support programs for corporations, foundations, associations, and individuals. Awards are granted without regard to race, color, creed, religion, sexual orientation, gender, disability, or national origin.
Applicants to the Captain Coy L. Sykes Memorial Scholarship Program must:
*Dependent children are defined as natural and legally adopted children or stepchildren living in the employee’s household or primarily supported by the employee.
**Full-time study is defined as full-time enrollment for the entire upcoming academic year.
Scholarship recipients are selected on the basis of:
Financial need is not considered.
Selection of recipients is made by Scholarship America. In no instance does any officer or employee of Our Heroes Foundation play a part in the selection. Not all applicants to the program will be selected as recipients. All applicants agree to accept the decision as final.
Up to four (4) awards of $2,000 each will be granted Hillsborough County Public Safety Personnel. Up to four (4) awards of $2,000 each will be granted to the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office and the Tampa Police Department. Two awards will be designated for the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office and two awards will be designated for the Tampa Police Department.
Awards may be renewed for up to three additional years or until a bachelor’s degree is earned, whichever occurs first. Renewal is contingent upon satisfactory academic performance in a full-time course of study and continuation of the program by Our Heroes Foundation.
Awards are for undergraduate study only.
All applicants will be notified in March.
Scholarship America processes scholarship payments on behalf of Our Heroes Foundation. Payment is made in August.
As part of your application, you must upload the following:
One online recommendation form must be submitted on your behalf no later than February 4, 2021 3:00 pm Central Time.
Your application is not complete unless all required materials are submitted electronically.