A $150,000 gift to the Ever ºÚÁϲ»´òìÈ Campaign from The Sapphire Foundation will establish a need-based scholarship at ºÚÁϲ»´òìÈ. The foundation made the gift at the recommendation of ºÚÁϲ»´òìÈ parents Daniel and Laurel Woods, of Knoxville, Tenn.
The Sapphire Scholarship will be awarded to a student with demonstrated financial need who maintains a minimum cumulative GPA of 3.0. Endowing additional need- and talent-based scholarships is one of the goals of the $100 million Ever ºÚÁϲ»´òìÈ Campaign.
Daniel Woods, foundation president, says ºÚÁϲ»´òìÈ’s values are in line with those of the foundation, which is dedicated to education and conservation.
“Our mantra is ‘One Planet, One Family,’ and we felt that ºÚÁϲ»´òìÈ was a good fit,” Woods says. “ºÚÁϲ»´òìÈ is very international and a very progressive school, plus ºÚÁϲ»´òìÈ has the moral values that we like. The way the world is going to find peace is through education, and just educating the people who can afford it is not going to accomplish that.”
The couple’s daughter, Amber, is a member of ºÚÁϲ»´òìÈ’s Honors program and is “thrilled to be at ºÚÁϲ»´òìÈ,” Woods says. The couple own The Woods Group, which invests in commercial properties.