The Lupus Alliance announces a new College Scholarship to benefit those whose lives have been touched by lupus.

Bellmore, NY – The Lupus Alliance of America LI/Q Affiliate which has been helping those with lupus and their families in the local area since 1955, has established their first college scholarship program; The Maxine Manara Memorial Scholarship Program. Funded by an extremely generous grant of $25,000 from the McCarthy Foundation, and named after a longtime dedicated staff member of the Alliance, this college scholarship is something the Alliance is proud and excited to offer.

“There are a lot of college scholarships out there for disabilities and diseases, but not many for lupus”, stated JoAnn Quinn, Executive Director of the Lupus Alliance LI/Q, “We are so proud to offer this program and help those with lupus in a way we have never been able to do before. The McCarthy Foundation grant has made this dream a possibility for us, and we are extremely thankful; and we are so pleased to award these scholarships under Maxine’s name. We wanted her to be remembered for all she did for those with lupus.”

The scholarship is open to anyone who has lupus and to minors under 21 whose parent has lupus. Applicants must live in Nassau, Suffolk or Queens and meet the financial need requirements. The student must be already attending or has been accepted to an accredited College, University, or Trade School and is working toward a degree. The minimum scholarship award is $500, and the deadline for 2007 applications is June 1st. Further details on the scholarship are available on the Alliance’s website at www.lupusliqueens.org.

John Vander-Putten, board member of the Alliance and chair of the Maxine Manara Memorial Scholarship Committee and the grandfather of an 18 year old granddaughter that was been fighting lupus since she was 12 stated, “Lupus, a devastating autoimmune disease that has no known cure, tries to take so much from the people who suffer from it; it is just nice to be able to counter that by offering something to make someone with lupus feel good and achieve one of their dreams.”

Executive Director JoAnn Quinn, added, “With at least 2 Million Americans who have lupus, everybody loves somebody with lupus. So we hope everyone will pass this information on to the somebody they love with lupus and encourage them to apply today.” If you would like to apply for a Maxine Manara Memorial Scholarship or if you wish to help fund this wonderful program please call The Lupus Alliance of LI/Q at 516-783-3370 or e-mail info@lupusliqueens.org.