Eleven years ago, the Morelli family created the foundation to honor their son and brother who died in a car accident. Since then they have raised nearly $1 million to help students with dyslexia. The endowment will now be transferred to the college Joe Morelli attended.
The scholarship fund started in 2014, awarding $5,000 to two students. More than a decade later, it has granted nearly $900,000 to students like Morelli who face learning challenges.
Morelli’s mom, Dr. Barbara Wirotsko, said when he passed away, friends and family members wanted to help. Her son was in high school before he was diagnosed with dyslexia and she thought there were likely many other students who struggled like her son did.
“Clearly, there's a huge unmet need,” Wirotsko said on KPCW’s “Local News Hour” Tuesday. “Each year we get about 350 applicants. A lot of kids here in Utah, Park City, but also nationwide.”
What started as a grassroots effort became more work than she and her group of volunteers could manage.
“I have a huge group of volunteers that were helping me review applicants, managing finances, sending out 80 to 85 checks around the country to various colleges,” she explained. “And it got to the point where we said, ‘OK, we need the infrastructure. So do we hire a full-time executive director, or do we find an organization or university with a like-minded approach that we could actually work with and would want to take this on and even grow it?’”
Dr. Carina Beck, the vice provost for Montana State University, said they’re grateful to accept the legacy, which aligns with the school’s own mission.
“Our focus is to educate the sons and daughters of our state, regardless of background or high school, GPA, ACT score,” Beck said. “So, the idea is that we want more students involved in higher education, not less.”
While the scholarship money has been paid to college students across the country, Beck said it will now be distributed only to MSU students.
Beck said the university is also committed to hiring a learning strategist that can help students with learning differences decode college and make the successful transition from high school to higher education.
“It's not just learning how to take a test,” she said, “But how to prepare to take a test, how to follow through with solid studying strategies, both reviewing and previewing information, working with faculty and meeting with tutors. There's a whole cadre of services that this position will support.”
Wirostko said a final foundation celebration next month will add more money to the fund before it’s handed over to MSU at the end of the year.
Promontory will host the event Sunday, Aug. 10, from 4 p.m. to 8 p.m. at The Shed. It's free to attend and donations are encouraged.
