Beau Biden scholarship to help child of slain service member
A scholarship named after former Delaware Attorney General Beau Biden will pay for the child of a service member who was killed or wounded in combat to go to college.
The money will be raised by glitzy golf tournaments at both the Republican and Democratic national conventions.
The "Congressional Shootouts" are sponsored by No Greater Sacrifice, a non-profit group dedicated to helping the children of fallen service members obtain higher education.
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“The Beau Biden scholarship will honor a great American who served his country in harm’s way," said U.S. Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-South Carolina, in a statement. "Beau was a friend, patriot, fine military officer, and even better person. What a fitting tribute to his life’s work.”
The tournaments will feature D.C. power-players who make Golf Digest's list of top golfers. The events' winners are billed as the "Best D.C. Golfers."
One of the tournaments will take place at the Kirkland Country Club near Cleveland, where the Republican National Convention is happening this week, while another will be held at Merion Golf Club outside of Philadelphia, where the Democratic National Convention will be next week.
“In the middle of a heated election year, for lawmakers from both parties, members of the media and military personnel – current and former — to be able to get together through NGS to support American military families is a great thing,” said Bret Baier, Chief Political Anchor of Fox News Channel, and the event’s honorary chairman, in the release.
Biden, the son of Vice President Joe Biden, died last year of brain cancer. His funeral drew an outpouring of sympathy from national political figures, both Democrat and Republican.
In the year since Biden's death, college scholarships and other charitable enterprises have been set up bearing his name. In May, one student received a $10,000 scholarship and another received a $2,500 from the I Could Do Great Things foundation named after him.
The Beau Biden Foundation was created to fight child abuse, building on Biden's work as AG. The Foundation recently began working with the Boys and Girls Clubs of Delaware to expand background checks for volunteers and provide free ID kits that help authorities find missing children.
Delaware also recently renamed the state National Guard headquarters in New Castle after Biden.
Contact Matthew Albright at malbright@delawareonline.com, (302) 324-2428 or on Twitter @TNJ_malbright.