Minnesota Students Earn Kohl's Scholarships for Community Work

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact:  

JC Maldonado, 414-227-1537 or jmaldonado@c-k.com 

KOHL’S DEPARTMENT STORES AWARDS TWO ROCHESTER-MASON CITY-AREA YOUTHS $1,000 SCHOLARSHIP FOR OUTSTANDING COMMUNITY SERVICE

Nearly 200 youth volunteers awarded $1,000 scholarships and qualify for $10,000 in total scholarships through the Kohl’s Cares Scholarship Program

MENOMONEE FALLS, Wis., July 10, 2013 – The Kohl’s Department Stores’ (NYSE: KSS) Kohl’s Cares® Scholarship Program honors nearly 200 deserving volunteers with $1,000 scholarships toward higher education. Two children from the Rochester-Mason City-area were chosen from more than 35,000 nominees nationwide for making a positive impact in their local communities. Through the Kohl’s Cares Scholarship Program, Kohl's is encouraging promising youth to further their education at a time when college costs continue to rise and parents are relying heavily on federal and private student loans to fund higher education.*

Local recipients of $1,000 scholarships are:

• Maren Johnson, 18, Watertown – After learning nearly four million people die each year from diseases that could be prevented by hand washing, Maren was compelled to take action. She became actively involved in the Global Soap Project, collecting used hotel soaps and repurposing them into new bars of soap for vulnerable countries across the world. Maren’s recycled more than 18,000 pounds of soap into 72,000 new bars of soap, enough to provide at least 6,000 people with soap for a year.
• Katherine Lambrecht, 9, Byron – Katherine’s love of reading motivated her, with the help of her three brothers, to start Give a Book, Receive a Smile to collect books for kids in Africa. She collected more than 7,700 books to send to the kids overseas.

Winners are chosen based on initiative, leadership, generosity and project benefits and outcome. Each regional-level winner qualifies for one of Kohl’s 10 national scholarships, which will be announced at the end of July. National winners will each receive a total of $10,000 in scholarships and Kohl’s will donate $1,000 to a nonprofit organization on each national winner’s behalf. In total, Kohl’s will recognize more than 2,300 young volunteers with more than $400,000 in scholarships and prizes.

In 2013, Kohl’s celebrates its 13th year of rewarding young volunteers. Since the Kohl’s Cares Scholarship Program began in 2001, Kohl’s has recognized more than 19,000 kids, including the 2013 winners, with more than $3.9 million in scholarships and prizes.

The Kohl’s Caresâ Scholarship Program is part of Kohl’s Caresâ, Kohl’s philanthropic program focused on improving the lives of children. For more information on the Kohl’s Caresâ Scholarship Program visit kohlskids.com.

About Kohl’s 

Based in Menomonee Falls, Wis., Kohl’s (NYSE: KSS) is a family-focused, value-oriented specialty department store offering moderately priced, exclusive and national brand apparel, shoes, accessories, beauty and home products in an exciting shopping environment. With a commitment to environmental leadership, Kohl’s operates 1,155 stores in 49 states. In support of the communities it serves, Kohl’s has raised more than $231 million for children’s initiatives nationwide through its Kohl’s Cares® cause merchandise program, which operates under Kohl's Cares, LLC, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Kohl's Department Stores, Inc. For a list of store locations and information, or for the added convenience of shopping online, visit www.Kohls.com, join the discussion on Facebook (http://www.facebook.com/kohls) or Twitter (http://twitter.com/Kohls) or get inspired on Pinterest (http://pinterest.com/kohls/) and Instagram (http://instagram.com/kohls). 

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*Reuters. “As college costs rise in U.S., parents fall short of saving goals.” Heather Struck. 2013.