Melania Trump announces $2M scholarship for foster youth: ‘Investment in America’s talent pipeline’

First Lady Melania Trump announced a $2 million donation from IndyCar and Fox Corporation towards her Fostering the Future initiative to help foster care youth pursue an education and career opportunities.

“The greatest investment America can make is not in technology, infrastructure, or capital markets – it’s our children,” Trump said during remarks at the White House Thursday, joined by President Donald Trump. “Tomorrow’s leaders are sitting in classrooms today, including those growing up in foster care. Their capability is no less remarkable.”

The donation, ahead of the Freedom 250 Grand Prix this weekend, expands the first lady’s Fostering the Future program to 26 colleges and universities across the country, including the University of Texas, University of Virginia, and Arizona State University, the White House said.

“Fostering the Future elevates America’s youth based on merit and talent, lifting them beyond economic circumstance and every other condition that may limit opportunity,” Trump said, adding that it’s “more than an educational initiative; it is a generational investment in America’s talent pipeline.”

“Every student who graduates strengthens our workforce, accelerates innovation, expands economic opportunity, and reduces long-term dependence on government assistance,” she said. “Education is the one asset that can never be taken away. It is the foundation upon which confidence is built, opportunity is created, and the future is invented.”

An IndyCar race car featuring BE BEST and Fostering the Future was on display at the event Thursday. The White House said that every race car in the Freedom 250 Grand Prix will include a specially designed BE BEST logo, “ensuring that the winner crosses the finish line in support of this vital initiative” during the race on the National Mall set for Sunday. 

FOX Sports CEO Eric Shanks said the group believes that sports can “lift up communities” through expanded educational opportunities.

“The First Lady is an incredible champion for students across the country,” IndyCar President J. Douglas Boles said in a statement, “and this initiative is critical to unlocking a more promising future for so many bright young minds.”