Each year we gather for YMA FSF Geoffrey Beene National Scholarship Awards Dinner to honor industry leaders and to award scholarships to some of our nation's most talented students; the future of our industry. We celebrated 130 students from 46 colleges and universities, including eight Geoffrey Beene National Scholarship finalists. Our finalists were chosen through a highly competitive selection process of essays, creative presentations and interviews with industry executives. The top four students each will be awarded a $30,000 Geoffrey Beene National Scholarship; the four other finalists each will receive a $10,000 Geoffrey Beene runner-up scholarship.
The Geoffrey Beene Foundation is pleased that it has donated over $4.5 million through 2015 to support the YMA Fashion Scholarship Fund's educational mission for students who can contribute to the future creative energy and leadership across the fashion industry.
Beyond scholarships, the principal mission of all Geoffrey Beene philanthropy is to support next generation breakthroughs in science. That is why the net profits from Geoffrey Beene, LLC, together with the Geoffrey Beene Foundation, fund "revolutionary new research" (more than $132 million) for all cancers through the Geoffrey Beene Cancer Research Center at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center. Tonight we are pleased to present a brief video highlighting some of the important features of the Geoffrey Beene Cancer Research Center.
The Geoffrey Beene Foundation also supports veterans' causes, the protection of women, children and their families, the protection of animals, other educational endeavors, the Geoffrey Beene Foundation Alzheimer's Initiative, GoRed for Women®, and the Geoffrey Beene Builders of Science Award in Washington, DC. Total funding from Geoffrey Beene for all causes exceeds $169 million in value.
Thank you all for the shared sense of social responsibility and generous support that guarantees the future vitality of our industry.
