It's the 10th anniversary of the death of Joe Morelli, a young man who moved to Park City in 2010 when he was a junior in high school. His mom, Dr. Barbara Wirtosko, said they created the foundation when Joe died in 2014.
“Do you celebrate, or do you cry? Because it marks when we lost our son in a car accident up at Montana State," Wirtosko said.
"But at the time, everybody wanted to do something and support us and help us, and we realized that if we had not had the resources to get us at the accommodations when he was in high school for his learning challenge, which we never knew that he had, he wouldn't have gone on to be very successful in college,” she added.
Wirostko says the foundation supports high school and college students with learning challenges who want to pursue a career in science, technology, engineering and math, or STEM, as Joe did.
About 300 students apply each year and after more than 10 years, almost $750,000 has been awarded to students around the country, most of those in Utah.
The scholarships reflect the success Joe achieved in overcoming the challenges of dyslexia.
Wirostko said the money can go towards whatever students believe they need to be successful.
“We had one young woman who was going to Salt Lake Community and did not have the finances to buy a computer for herself, and she was in a computer engineering class,” she explained. “If they're in trade school, they've also used the money to support buying tools, if they're a mechanic. So, it runs the gamut, or they could use it for testing or tutoring, whatever they need.”
On Sat., Aug. 17, the foundation will host its annual celebration and fundraising event to raise awareness, money and educate anyone who wants to attend.
“It's free. We have a band. We have John Flanders playing. We’ve got drinks, we've got a speaker," Wirostko said. "This year we're going to have David Flink, who you had on the radio a few weeks ago, talking about neurodiversity and the path, the struggles, the challenges, both for the students and the parents.”
The celebration begins at 5 p.m. at the Shed in Promontory.
Wirostko asks anyone interested to please register so they will have enough cupcakes on hand.
The application period for next year’s scholarships opens Jan. 1.
