Thirty-two Rising HACP Youth Awarded $157,500 in Scholarships From Clean Slate E3, NEED Partnership

July 25, 2025

Congratulations to the 11 new Clean Slate E3 Scholarship recipients for the 2025-26 school year! Clean Slate and NEED also awarded scholarships to 21 returning students this year, for a total of 32 scholarships or $157,500.

Clean Slate E3, HACP’s nonprofit affiliate, and NEED Scholarships announced Thursday they have awarded $157,500 in scholarships to 32 rising HACP youth for the 2025-26 school year.

This year’s scholarship awardees include 11 new recipients and 21 returning students.

Clean Slate E3 began its scholarship program in 2009 with the help of its valued partner, NEED. HACP residents — in both Low-Income Public Housing and the Housing Choice Voucher Program — who are either graduating high school or continuing their college education with a cumulative GPA of 2.5 or higher are eligible to apply.

Clean Slate awards up to $4,000 and NEED awards up to $1,000 a year for four years to each recipient, with total awards of up to $20,000 to recipients chosen by representatives at NEED.

Since its inception, the Clean Slate E3 Scholarship Program has awarded more than $700,000 in scholarships to HACP residents. Monies from the scholarship fund come from HACP employee donations and other contributions; it is not funded with federal dollars.

New this year, two students were awarded scholarships named for the late Ms. Gail Felton and Ms. Cheryl Gainey. Ms. Felton and Ms. Gainey were tireless advocates of supporting their communities at Bedford Dwellings and Allegheny Dwellings, respectively.

Both Ms. Felton and Ms. Gainey served as Tenant Council President in their communities, and fought to help improve the quality of life for all residents, particularly HACP youth.

Some of this year’s new Clean Slate E3 Scholarship recipients attended the July 24, 2025 HACP Board of Commissioners meetings with their families. They are pictured with new Clean Slate Program Manager Susan Lofaro (second from right).

“We have a motivated group of scholarship recipients this year who are eager to begin or continue their education in the field of their choice,” Susan Lofaro, Clean Slate’s new Program Manager, said. “Clean Slate is grateful to NEED and the many contributors who help keep our scholarship program afloat as we work to improve the quality of life of the emerging leaders of the HACP.”

To learn more about Clean Slate, scholarship eligibility, and contributing to the scholarship fund, please visit: https://hacp.org/programs-services/scholarship-fund/.

Media contact: Michelle Sandidge, Chief Community Affairs Officer, 412-456-5058, or michelle.sandidge@hacp.org
Susan Lofaro, Clean Slate Program Manager, 412-899-6739, or CleanSlateE3@gmail.com