The Barasch & McGarry Charitable Foundation is accepting applications through July 31 for five $25,000 college scholarships for graduating high school seniors who lost a family member to a 9/11-related illness, according to a press release distributed by Butler Associates on behalf of the foundation.
The September 11th Descendants Scholarship Program will award $125,000 total across the five one-time awards. Scholarships are paid directly to the recipient’s educational institution. Applicants must be accepted to an accredited college, university, community college, vocational school, or trade school at the time the awards are given.
The program is funded through Barasch & McGarry, a New York-based law firm that has represented and advocated for 9/11 first responders, survivors, and families since 2001, and is timed to the 25th anniversary of the attacks.
The scholarship targets a generation too young to remember the attacks. The World Trade Center Health Program, created under the James Zadroga 9/11 Health and Compensation Act in 2010, has certified more than 140,000 people from all 50 states with 9/11-related health conditions and confirmed more than 9,000 deaths tied to those illnesses, according to the foundation’s press release. That is nearly three times the number of people killed on September 11, 2001.
“While this year’s graduating seniors were not yet born when the attacks occurred, many grew up experiencing the loss of a parent or loved one to a 9/11-related illness,” said Michael Barasch, managing partner of Barasch & McGarry, in the press release. “Through these five $25,000 scholarships, we hope to honor their resilience, support their educational goals, and invest in the next generation. Twenty-five years later, 9/11 continues to affect families across the country, and these students are living proof of that lasting impact.”
Winners will be notified by August 3 and recognized at the “Giving Back Benefit: Honoring the 25th Remembrance of 9/11” on September 2, per the press release. The foundation’s website says winners are selected by an Independent Selection Committee. The foundation also provides grants to nonprofit organizations that support and deliver services to the 9/11 community.
Applications can be submitted at baraschfoundation.org. The deadline is July 31, 2026.
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