Lilly Reiser Scholarship

This scholarship will provide $10,000 scholarships per year for nine Jewish students from Connecticut and New York. Awards will be based on a combination of both need and merit.

The scholarship application period for the 2024-2025 academic year will open from February 15 through March 15, 2024. To apply, please visit www.ujf.org/LillyReiser on or after February 15th. For more information or questions, I can be reached at Eric@ujf.org.

Lilly E. Reiser (1924-2020) was born in the small town of Moravska-Ostrava in the Czechoslovak Socialist Republic (now the Czech Republic). Having suffered the inhumanity and indignity of forced labor and internment during the Holocaust at Theresienstadt, Auschwitz, and Bergen-Belson, Lilly was eventually liberated from Bergen-Belson by British soldiers. She emigrated to the United States in 1945 and was only able to obtain her degrees because of the generosity of various Jewish communal organizations, that provided her with the scholarships necessary to do so.

 Awards will be based on a combination of both need and merit. Meaning, the winning applicants will demonstrate the potential to live up to Lilly Reiser’s example, as a person who overcame significant hardship, prized education, and became a responsible and productive citizen. The scholarship was designed for students who can benefit from the award for up to 4 years – but students already enrolled in college or graduate school will also be considered. The scholarship will provide support during 4 consecutive years, as long as satisfactory academic standards are met (awardees must maintain full-time enrollment, and a 3.0 minimum GPA at a U.S.-based accredited college or university, to be eligible for renewal).