ADS | Their future is our mission.
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Their future is our mission.

Mission Give Back Foundation to award $30,000 to children of fallen, injured and missing heroes.

Applications are now being accepted for the 2022 Mission Give Back® Foundation Scholarship program. This year, the Foundation will award up to $30,000 in college scholarship money to the children of military service members and first responders injured, killed or missing in the line of duty.

Since the program began in 2019, 12 winners have been awarded scholarships to help put a dent in their college expenses.

"Kids are so stressed by all the debt they graduate with, it’s great to be able to alleviate some of that. It’s honestly the best thing we do."

- Deborah Gries, FSO and Administrative Manager at ADS, Inc.

The scholarship program is an extension of the company's mission to serve its customers, Gries said, while giving back to those who dedicate their lives to protecting ours.


Kylie Soniak was just 2 years old when her father Joe was severely burned battling a Thanksgiving Day house fire with the Norfolk Fire Department in 2003. Joe ultimately returned to the force and retired after 23 years. Today, he runs a business centered around fire prevention, while Kylie is studying to be a veterinarian at Perdue University. She received a $5,000 scholarship from the Mission Give Back® Foundation last year.


“My dad is like this ‘forever child,’” she said recently.“ He has this radiance to him – such a positive outlook on life and what you can do with it.”

Kylie has absolutely loved her first year at Purdue, and had a blast touring her dad around campus, taking him through her labs and introducing him to all her professors.

“He was wigging out,” she said.

Kylie, who has added a double minor in Wildlife & Applied Sciences to her studies, plans to visit the Galapagos in spring and hopes to spend a semester in Australia during her junior or senior year.

Full details and applications for the 2022 Mission Give Back® Foundation Scholarship program are now available online.

Scholarships totaling up to $30,000 (in amounts of $1,000 to $5,000 each) will be awarded to high school seniors who are dependents of U.S. military, law enforcement and first responders who have fallen, been injured or are missing in action in the line of service. Such children who are rising seniors and committed to a university or higher technical education are eligible for scholarships awarded annually.