UConn’s Sandy Hook Scholarship Fund Surges Over $1M

A fund created to finance scholarships for students from Sandy Hook Elementary School now has more than $1 million in donations, according to the University of Connecticut.

The scholarship fund will support the college costs of siblings of those killed in the assault, the dependents of the adults who lost their lives or were physically wounded, as well as students currently enrolled at the elementary school, who are accepted to UConn.

The donations include:

• A $25,000 gift last week from Mark R. Shenkman, chairman of the UConn Foundation Board of Directors and a UConn alumnus
• The Bowl Championship Series made a gift of $80,120, which represented $1 for every fan in attendance at the Jan. 7 BCS National Championship game
• UConn alumnus Denis McCarthy contributed $25,000
• Margaret Keane, parent of a UConn alumnus, who contributed a $25,000 award received through her employment at GE
• The Hartford Financial Services Group contributed $100,000
• UnitedHealthcare contributed $10,000.

The fund got started with an $80,000 donation from basketball coach Geno Auriemma. The Connecticut Education Association is also committed to raising $1 million.