MIRA

The Voice of Independent Retailers

Scholarship Application

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Scholarship Application

Each year the MIR Foundation awards academic scholarships worth $1,500 each to extraordinary students.

APPLY HERE

Scholarship Requirements and General Information

Who is eligible for the Academic Scholarships?

A high school senior, college freshman, sophomore or junior who is:

A student employed by an MIRA member company for at least six months as of January 1 OR
A student whose parent is a full or part-time employee of an MIRA members company for at least one year as of January 1 OR
An MIRA member customer and their children

Who is eligible for the Minority Scholarships?

A high school senior, college freshman, sophomore or junior
Applicants must belong to one of the following ethnic groups to qualify for minority status: African-American,
Hispanic, Asian, Native American, or Arab/Chaldean American

Special rules:

Only one scholarship will be awarded per MIRA member company.
Multiple Merit, Minority Merit, Financial Need Merit and Trade Merit scholarships will be awarded (of these, a minimum of 3 will be awarded to MIRA member customers).
Applicants are eligible to win and receive a scholarship a maximum of two times.
All applications MUST be completed and submitted with transcripts by March 31 to be considered for an academic scholarship.

Selection of winners

Scholarship winners will be chosen by a panel of educators. Winners will be notified by approximately June 1. Winners must enroll as full-time or part-time students for the fall college semester.
The selection criteria includes past academic performance, leadership and participation in school and community activities and college grades are considered.
To insure complete impartiality in the selection of winners, this scholarship program is administered by International Scholarship & Tuition Services (ISTS), a firm that specializes in the administration of sponsored scholarship programs.

How will scholarships be awarded?

Depending on where you live, scholarship winners are REQUIRED to attend either the “MIR Foundation Scholarship Luncheon”. Students will receive their scholarship at this events. All winners must RSVP. Non-attendance will be considered a forfeit of your award.
The awards are a one time, non-renewable grant in the amount of $1,500.
Scholarship recipients are responsible for making certain that their scholarships are delivered to their college.
Awards are for undergraduate full or part-time students and can only be used in the academic year they are awarded barring illness, emergency or military service.

What is the scholarship timeline?

All applications and support documents must be received by March 31.
Applicants should be notified of the selection committee’s decision by approximately April 30th.

Program Administration
To assure complete impartiality in the management of the program and the selection of winners, the scholarship programs described above are managed by International Scholarship & Tuition Services (ISTS), a firm that specializes in the administration of sponsored scholarship programs.

To Check Your Scholarship Application Status Online & Make Changes
You can return to aim.applyists.net/MIRF. Enter your original access key. Once you have completed Step One, you will be able to see the status of your application and/or make any necessary changes. You do not have to resubmit any paperwork. Your status will show in red print at the top of the page.

Questions regarding the scholarship program should be addressed to:
MIR Foundation Scholarship Program
International Scholarship & Tuition Services
P.O. Box 23737, Nashville, TN 37202-3737
Fax: (615) 320-3151
aim.applyists.net/MIRF

It’s rewarding to be part of an organization that is trying to pool resources to compete with the chain stores, such as the programs that have been endorsed by our committees. They help bring in savings with companies that otherwise would never have been presented.” “With more voices comes more success, because the stronger in numbers and participation in our organization, the more viable we become with politicians in our states to bring about positive legislation for our industry, as well as having more leverage in the vendor community to help make us more competitive and profitable.

Phil KassaHearland Marketplace, Farmington Hills MI

It is vitally important for everyone to promote membership to MIRA so that the association can continue to provide great services to its members. This will enable them to serve as a cornerstone within their communities.

Percy Wells, IICoca-Cola Refreshments, Belleville MI

It’s very important to be part of the industry you serve. MIRA is an important organization, and being part of a great team gives us the voice to fight for what we believe in, and the power to know we are being treated fairly. Unity is strength, and the more members we have, the stronger we become.

Frank AyarWalters Shopping Place

Newberry especially likes working with independent retailers, he says, because that’s where you can build your brand quickly and effectively. “Working through MIRA makes that even more effective, because independents are especially strong in Michigan and Ohio.

Roger NewberryMonster Energy

According to MIRA we are their biggest member on the Dairymens rebate program. The coupon program is also a big help to us, and the rebate for a preferred wholesaler company makes a big difference to us because, as a small independent store competing with other chains, it puts us on the same level playing field.

Sam TahaMini Mart, Cleveland OH

MIRA is a good organization, very community focused,” “The biggest benefit is the government relations interface. They lobby for all of us and work for our rights on issues like federal and state taxes,” “MIRA was behind the initiative to spread food stamps out across the month, which has been very helpful, and they are working hard on the bottle recycling issue, which is painful and expensive for retailers to maintain. We couldn’t do it alone.

Gary GerlachOrchard Markets