Big Y in the News
Headquartered in Springfield, MA, Big Y is one of the largest independently owned supermarket chains in New England. Proud to be family owned and operated, we operate almost 80 stores throughout Connecticut and Massachusetts with over 11,000 employees. Big Y has been named a 2015 Employer of Choice by the Employers Association of the Northeast. Founded in 1936 by brothers Paul and Gerald D'Amour, the store was named after an intersection in Chicopee, Massachusetts where two roads converge to form a "Y".
Big Y in the News contains excerpts from press releases that have been sent to local media.
$250,000 IN LOCAL SCHOLARSHIPS
SPRINGFIELD, MA - (November 1st, 2019
Big Y World Class Markets 2020 scholarship season will begin November 1st, 2019 and end February 1st, 2020. In 2019, over 350 academically- outstanding students from communities surrounding their stores received a total of over $250,000 in college scholarships. Unlike most area scholarships, these awards are based on academic merit, regardless of financial need. With Big Y’s assistance, students from all over Massachusetts and Connecticut are attending schools such as Western New England University, Westfield State University, UMASS, UCONN, University of Hartford, Springfield College, Georgetown University, Boston University, Yale University, Northeastern University and Quinnipiac University this fall. Top recipients were honored at a Scholarship Awards Ceremony held at the Big Y Store Support Center in Springfield, Massachusetts this past May. Big Y’s Scholarship Program reflects their longstanding commitment to education and is considered to be one of the most competitive in New England, with thousands of students applying each year. Since this program was founded in 1981, $4.7 Million has been awarded to more than 6,300 students. “We are pleased to be able to recognize the hard work and the dedication of the many students achieving academic excellence in our communities that we serve,” said Charlie D’Amour, Big Y president and CEO. What also sets Big Y’s Scholarship program apart from others is that it is open to all of their customers and customers’ dependents as well as employees, and employee dependents. Awards are given to students in the categories of high school graduate, undergraduate, community college, graduate, and non-traditional. There is also a special category within the Big Y Scholarship program that honors dependents of the law enforcement officers, firefighters, and military service members who risk their lives every day to protect and serve local communities. This past year, 22 scholarships have been awarded to dependents of law enforcement officers, firefighters, and military service members.
The online Scholarship application for the upcoming 2020 award cycle will be available starting November 1st. Visit https://www.bigy.com/Community/Scholarships to apply. To be eligible, a student’s permanent residence or school must be located in Massachusetts or Connecticut. Completed online application along with supporting documents need to be submitted by February 1, 2020.