Feb 11, 2019

HMSHost Helps Improve Education Access for Florida Schoolchildren with $500K Contribution to Step Up For Students Scholarship Program

Third year of support celebrated in Miami

MIAMI, Fla. (February 11, 2019) – To make a lasting impact on the quality of education for Florida’s youth and the next generation, global restaurateur HMSHost contributed $500,000 to Step Up For Students for the Florida Tax Credit Scholarship Program for lower-income K-12 students.

Through the tax-credit scholarship, Step Up, a state-approved nonprofit scholarship funding organization, is serving nearly 100,000 students for the 2018-19 school year. HMSHost’s contribution helps eligible students throughout Florida access education options to meet their learning need. HMSHost attended Step Up’s annual Rising Star Awards ceremony in Miami-Dade County on Feb. 6 at Hope Academy to celebrate the success of outstanding Step Up scholars.

“HMSHost, as a leader in business and an active community member in cities all over Florida where we operate restaurants in airports, understands how important it is to support continuing the growth and development of our neighbors and fellow citizens,” said HMSHost President and CEO Steve Johnson. “We are proud to help make this investment in the education of Florida’s youth and thank the Step Up For Students organization for the great partnership and opportunity to have a bigger impact in the community by providing scholarships to those that need it most.”

HMSHost’s $500,000 contribution funds 74 scholarships. Over the last three years, HMSHost has contributed $1.4 million, the equivalent of 217 scholarships.

“We are excited that HMSHost has partnered with us again to provide educational options for lower-income families in Florida,” said Doug Tuthill, president of Step Up For Students. “We are grateful for their continued generosity and commitment to helping students in our community.”

Step Up For Students K-12 scholarships for financially disadvantaged children are funded through the Florida Tax Credit Scholarship Program. Dollar-for-dollar tax credits are provided to companies for certain tax liabilities when funding these scholarships through state-approved scholarship funding organizations. Parents use these scholarships to help pay their children’s tuition and fees to a K-12 private school, or for a transportation assistance scholarship to an out-of-district public school.

HMSHost’s network spans the state of Florida. Working with Step Up For Students supports and strengthens the Company’s active role in Florida’s communities, where 2,600 HMSHost associates operate restaurants and serve Florida’s traveling public in over 128 restaurants and cafés in nine of Florida’s major airports.