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10th annual NJCTS Children’s Scholarship Program now available for graduating NJ high school seniors with TS

Collaborative Partnerships for the Tourette Syndrome Community

Applicants must be attending a college, university or trade school in the fall and apply by May 1; winners selected for academic achievement, community involvement and accomplishments

SOMERVILLE – The NJ Center for Tourette Syndrome & Associated Disorders (NJCTS) is proud to announce that applications for the 10th annual NJCTS Children’s Scholarship Program are being accepted now through May 1. Scholarships are awarded to graduating New Jersey high school seniors diagnosed with Tourette Syndrome who have excelled in their schools and communities in the face of living with TS.

Over the past decade, NJCTS has awarded more than 200 scholarships, with each recipient being selected for his or her academic achievement, public service and personal accomplishments as an individual with TS – an inherited, misunderstood, misdiagnosed neurological disorder that is characterized by sounds and movements know as tics, and affects 1 in 100 children.

Since 2004, the NJCTS Children’s Scholarship Program has been funded through private contributions. This year, however, NJCTS has dedicated the NJ Walks for TS at Princeton as a fundraising mechanism for the scholarship program – with the ultimate goal to increase the amount of scholarship money available for each recipient. NJ Walks for TS at Princeton will take place April 6 at Mercer County Park.

“As the NJ Center for Tourette Syndrome & Associated Disorders celebrates its 10th anniversary, it is with great pride that we continue the tradition of recognizing our hard-working students,” NJCTS Executive Director Faith W. Rice said. “The NJCTS Children’s Scholarship Program Committee looks forward to receiving each application and rewarding our winners. We also eagerly anticipate the turnout for NJ Walks for TS at Princeton, which will enable us to continue cultivating and growing this wonderful scholarship program for years to come.”

The amount of the prizes, criteria for selection, and ultimate choosing of the winners is at the sole discretion of NJCTS and its scholarship committee. Winners will be announced in June following a review of all applications by the committee.

The NJCTS Children’s Scholarship Program is not only about handing out monetary awards, however. It is about fostering awareness of the extraordinary lives led by intelligent teenagers who each day diligently strive to succeed while coping with the effects of Tourette Syndrome.

“This is the first time in my life I have ever been recognized in a positive way for having Tourette Syndrome,” a 2009 NJCTS Children’s Scholarship recipient wrote after receiving his award. “Thank you from the bottom of my heart.”

To review the selection criteria and process, and apply for a 2014 NJCTS Children’s Scholarship, please download an application today. For more information about the NJCTS Children’s Scholarship Program, please visit www.njcts.org. To read the scholarship essays of winners from 2012 and 2013, please visit the Teens4TS blog.

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NJ Center for Tourette Syndrome and Associated Disorders, Inc. Collaborative partnerships for the TS community.