RICHMOND, Va. -- One foundation that supports college students with book scholarships is celebrating its 19th birthday.
The KLM Scholarship Foundation, founded by Kim Martin in 2002, has awarded college students more than $450,000 in book scholarships. Kaci Easley is one of the former recipients.
"That was a lot time ago, but Kim and the foundation afforded me by four years while I was at Hampton University with a book scholarship and I was super appreciative," Easley said.
Easley credits some of her success to the help she received from the foundation. She made history as the first African American to serve as the Executive Director of Virginia's Executive Mansion.
"I worked for Governor Terry McAuliffe for four years and it was an amazing experience and I know the help that Kim and the foundation gave helped to propel my career. You know, it takes money from all over to support kids in school and we have to come together as a community to uplift and make sure our students are getting the resources that they need," Easley said.
The birthday party is an opportunity to raise money for college students and gives people the chance to celebrate with food, music and friends.
"So it's a great way to come party safely with a purpose and to give back a portion of the ticket's proceeds to our serving students. There is still a cost associated with that and just making sure that our students have the resources that they need in order to be successful is the main objective here," Easley said.
The foundation's 19th birthday celebration and fundraiser is on Friday at 6 p.m. at the Hippodrome Speakeasy in Historic Jackson Ward.
To learn more about the foundation and the birthday party, visit the foundation's website.
