Hollywood, FL — An initiative that continues to pull at heartstrings, the Planning and Visual Education Partnership’s Student Scholarship Program, is proud to announce another year of funding to benefit college students that are working toward a career in the retail environments industry. Although the program is still in its infancy, in four years it has granted more than $54,000 in aid for 35 students.

Denny Gerdeman, PAVE President and CEO of Chute Gerdeman, said, “Design and visual education is vital for our retail industry so that we can continue to inspire customers with exciting concepts. The cost of this education is now almost out of reach for some very promising students. The PAVE mission is to help these students succeed by providing them with necessary funding.”

The PAVE Student Scholarship Program, now in its fifth year, is just one way that the organization is fulfilling its mission of supporting students that are studying for careers in retail design, planning, visual merchandising, industrial design, and other similar industries. The funds are granted to students facing financial hardship to assist with basic expenses such as tuition, books, housing, food and transportation.

Recipient Meridyth Johnson shared her experience: "Receiving a scholarship from PAVE affirmed to me that there are people in this world who desire to inspire students and invest in their futures. It gave me the confidence that I can make a difference as a designer because someone gave me the chance to receive an excellent college education. I received not only a gift, but the inspiration and encouragement to succeed.”

PAVE’s Student Scholarship Program is now accepting applications. Go to www.paveinfo.org for the scholarship application and information about the guidelines and requirements. The deadline for applications is Oct. 1, 2013. The program owes its existence to scholarships created by the generous contributions of companies in the retail environments industry:

The B+N Industries PAVE Scholarship

The Crown Metal PAVE Scholarship

The DAVACO Scholarship for Retail Education

The Dillmeier Glass Co. PAVE Scholarship

The Elevations Inc. PAVE Scholarship

The EMI Industries PAVE Scholarship

The TJ Hale PAVE Scholarship

The High Country Millwork PAVE Scholarship.

The Impressions Marketing Group PAVE Scholarship

The Leggett & Platt PAVE Scholarship

The Lifestyle/Trimco PAVE Scholarship

The Mondo Mannequins PAVE Scholarship

The OCTANORM® USA PAVE Scholarship

The Reeve Store Equipment Co. Scholarship to support a PAVE student

The Showbest PAVE Scholarship

The Stylmark PAVE Scholarship

About PAVE: Founded in 1992, the Planning and Visual Education Partnership's (PAVE) objective is to encourage students to study in the field of retail design and planning and visual merchandising. Additionally, PAVE seeks to encourage retail management, store planners, visual merchandisers, architects, and manufacturers to interact with and support design students. These objectives are accomplished through competitions, projects, seminars, workshops, and grants and scholarships funded by the annual Gala and other fundraising activities. PAVE is a 501(c)(3) educational foundation administered by A.R.E. More about PAVE.

Source: PAVE