Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos Delivers Major Gift To Dreamers, Donates $33 Million To DACA Students
LOS ANGELES (CBSLA) -- Amazon founder and CEO Jeff Bezos and his wife MacKenzie have given Dreamers the ultimate reason to keep dreaming by donating a $33 million scholarship grant to TheDream.US.
According to TheDream.US, Bezos's donation is the largest in the organization's history and will provide 1,000 undocumented immigrant graduates of U.S. high schools with DACA status the chance to enroll in college.
"MacKenzie and I are honored to be able to help today's Dreamers by funding these scholarships," said Bezos in a statement.
In the statement, Bezos credited his father, who came to the United States as a part of Operation Pedro Pan at 16-years-old.
"With a lot of grit and determination – and the help of some remarkable organizations in Delaware – my dad became an outstanding citizen," said Bezos. "And he continues to give back to the country that he feels blessed him in so many ways."
TheDream.US, the country's largest scholarship program for Dreamers, says that Dreamers are unable to receive state aid in 44 states and are not entitled to federal grants and loans.
According to the organization, which works with more than 70 low-cost colleges in 15 states, Dreamers receive $33,000 in scholarship aid to help pay for various college costs including tuition, fees and books.
"Everyone who believes in education and is a friend of the Dreamers would like to thank Jeff and MacKenzie Bezos for this magnificent gift," said President of TheDream.US Candy Marshall. "It is a shot in the arm for Dreamer students at a time when some are questioning whether they should be in the United States at all."