Daniel Murphy Scholarship Fund Receives Generous Grant from The John & Kathleen Schreiber Foundation

Contact Information
Daniel Murphy Scholarship Fund
Jessica Ayala
(312) 455-7808
[email protected] ​

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Daniel Murphy Scholarship Fund receives generous grant from The John & Kathleen Schreiber Foundation

[A donation that brings the Murphy Scholars program to the Lake County area]

[CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, February] – The Daniel Murphy Scholarship Fund (DMSF), Chicago’s largest high school scholarship granting organization, is thrilled to announce a $2 million gift over four years from The John & Kathleen Schreiber Foundation. This gift will enable DMSF to extend our program to Lake County, enhancing educational opportunities for students in the area, mirroring the program's success in the Chicago area. 
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DMSF, which initially launched in the Chicago area in 1989, has been highly successful in providing tuition scholarships and programmatic support to students to help them excel academically and realize their full potential in high school, college and beyond. With over 500 Murphy Scholars across 87 partner high schools, our Scholars excel and graduate from high school, attend and graduate from college at a rate nearly twice the national average - 87% are on track to graduate within six years. Murphy Scholars are Scholars for life, and they give back to DMSF as donors, mentors, volunteers and champions of the organization’s mission.

Through this partnership, DMSF and The John & Kathleen Schreiber Foundation will bring that same opportunity, excitement, and promise to a new group of students in Lake County. Cindy Hallums, Executive Director at DMSF, shares, "The expansion of the Murphy Scholar program to Lake County aligns with our commitment to breaking down barriers to access an excellent education and empowering students to achieve their dreams. We are deeply grateful to The John & Kathleen Schreiber Foundation for their life-changing gift and their belief in DMSF’s mission and Murphy Scholars."
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The donation from The John & Kathleen Schreiber Foundation underscores the shared commitment of both organizations to invest in the education of future leaders. By helping expand the Murphy Scholar program to Lake County, the Foundation aims to create a lasting impact on the lives of students in the area, fostering a culture of academic excellence and personal development. John Schreiber, founder of the John & Kathleen Schreiber Foundation, explains, “Much of our philanthropic work is focused on breaking down barriers that can prevent the next generation of leaders from accessing a high-quality education. We’re grateful to DMSF for expanding their Murphy Scholars program to Lake County, where students with big dreams and diverse talents will leverage the strong curriculum and resources to be successful in high school, college and beyond.” 

After a successful recruitment process this past fall of 2023, DMSF is excited to welcome eight Murphy Scholars from Lake County to the Murphy Scholar program.

About the Daniel Murphy Scholarship Fund

The mission of the Daniel Murphy Scholarship Fund is to give high school scholarship assistance and programmatic support to Chicago area students with financial need. Today, in its 35th anniversary year, DMSF serves over 500 Scholars and is able to offer 150 new scholarships to 8th grade students each year. Those students are attending roughly 40 different parochial and independent day schools in the Chicago area, as well as 40 boarding schools from coast to coast. DMSF has awarded scholarships to more than 2,200 Scholars, allowing them to attend college preparatory high schools and continuing on to college. The median family annual income of Murphy families is currently $37,800, and nearly 70% of the Scholars are first-generation students, the first in their families to attend and graduate college. 
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For more information on DMSF’s impact in the community and ways to get involved during DMSF’s 35th anniversary year, please visit our website at www.dmsf.org or follow @MurphyScholars on Instagram.