Headquarters

1750 Claiborne Ave.

Shreveport, LA71103

318.635.6471

Fax: 318.635.8901

Scholarship Program Information, Eligibility, and Guidelines

Louisiana Association for the Blind (LAB) is a private, not-for-profit organization established in Shreveport, LA in 1927. LAB's mission is to improve the quality of life for people with blindness through training, services and employment.

Scholarship Information:

  1. Scholarship funds originate from personal and corporate contributions.
  2. Up to two $2,500 scholarships may be awarded.
  3. Scholarships must be used during 2015-2016 academic year.

LAB Scholarship Selection Committee:

  1. The LAB Scholarship Selection Committee will determine the scholarship recipients based on scholastic achievement, overall grade point average (grades 9-12 and/or post-secondary work) or GED scores, and involvement in school activities and/or community services.
  1. Only the Committee Chairman will see the applicant's name and identifying information. All applicants will be number-coded for identification purposes.
  1. The decisions of the Selection Committee are final. The scholarship recipient will be notified by mail. All applicants will receive notice of the status of their application.

Eligibility Criteria:

  1. The applicant must be blind or legally blind, defined as “an individual whose central visual acuity does not exceed 20/200 in the better eye with correcting lenses, or whose visual acuity if better than 20/200 is accompanied by a limit to the field of vision in the better eye to such a degree that its widest diameter subtends an angle no greater than 20 degrees.” The applicant must submit the form “Mandatory Eye Medical Information” with his/her application packet.
  1. The applicant must be a candidate for a High School Diploma or GED certificate by June 2015 from an accredited school located in northwest Louisiana, or must be currently enrolled in a post-secondary 2- or 4-year college, or technical school.
  1. Applicant must present proof of acceptance to an accredited 2- or 4-year college, or technical school.
  1. The scholarship recipient must certify his/her continued eligibility for the scholarship award, at the time the checks are endorsed to the accredited college, university, technical, or other accredited post-secondary school.
  1. Selection will be based on academic achievement and involvement in school activities and/or community services.
  1. Scholarship awards will also be considered for students pursuing an advanced degree from an accredited college or university.
  1. LAB employees are not eligible. However, family members of LAB employees are eligible.

Application Procedure:

  1. Submitting the application and supporting documents will qualify a student to be considered for the LAB scholarship. Only one LAB scholarship may be awarded to any person.
  1. The application and supporting documents must be completed, signed, and received at LAB's Claiborne Avenue (Shreveport) offices no later than close of business on April 30, 2015. Incomplete, late or inaccurate applications will not be accepted. An April 30, 2015, postmark is NOT acceptable; the application must be physically received at LAB by the deadline.
  1. All submitted materials will become the property of LAB and will be retained for one full year, after which all applications and supporting documents will be destroyed.
  1. The scholarship must be used during the 2015-2016 school year.

Mail or hand-deliver applications and supporting documents to:

Louisiana Association for the Blind

Attn: Scholarship Program

1750 Claiborne Avenue

Shreveport, LA 71103

Information Contact:

Ms. Libby Murphy

Vice President of Strategic Development

(318) 635-6471 ext. 235

LAB 2015 Scholarship Application Form ProcedurePage 1 of 3

LAB Form #LVC-1Rev. 03-30-15