TORONTO — Tell your kids. The OTA Education Foundation announced yesterday that scholarship applications are now available for Ontario post-secondary students.

To be eligible for the $1,500 and $1,000 scholarships, students must show that they have been accepted into a recognized full-time program at an approved university or college, be 25 years of age or under as of January 1, 2012, and be sponsored by an Ontario trucking company or trucking services/supply company that employs or contracts a parent of the applicant. Students must also submit a brief essay that answers a question about the trucking industry.

Wait, there’s more. Students entering their first year of post-secondary studies directly from high school are eligible to apply for the J.O. Goodman Award or the C. V. Hoar Award, or the recently announced Bud Barr Award.

While applicants can use the same form to apply for the above awards as they would for the scholarships, there are some additional requirements that they will be assessed on:

• Academic achievement
• Service to community,
• And participation in extra-curricular activites.

Winners are chosen by the Foundation’s Selection Committee.

Both the awards and scholarships are funded by donations from good, generous trucking and trucking related companies. The number of scholarships given each year is dependent on the amount received in donations for that year, explained the OTA. In 2011/2012, the Foundation provided nearly $52,000 in financial assistance to post-secondary students.

You can download the application package or make a donation, here.