Through volunteers' devotion and community fundraising, Dollars for Scholars (DFS) has been helping hard-working students pay for college for close to fifty years. Yet, until Cobalt Mortgage expressed interest last year, it had never had a corporate partner.

"I firmly believe the need to help fund college is critical for those students to then be successful in life," said Cobalt Mortgage Senior Loan Officer Jaimie Garrett. Graduating without a large student loan debt means they can move forward, which eventually does mean buying a home and achieving that dream ... which in turn keeps us in business."

Statistics show that 64 percent of Americans are more likely to buy from and recommend companies that support a cause they care about, so the reasoning is solid.

Garrett herself has been involved with the DFS movement since 1993, when she helped form the Steilacoom Historical Educational Foundation, which became a functioning DFS chapter. Then, just a few years ago, she was talking with Cobalt Mortgage owner Keith Tibbles about what she did when she wasn't securing loans for clients, and DFS came up. 

"It would have been easier to tell him what I didn't do with that time," laughed Garrett, who is an active community member also heavily involved with the Lakewood subchapter of the Association of the U.S. Army (AUSA). "I explained how strongly I felt about providing scholarships and he agreed. He went on to say that he felt it was important to give back as an entire corporation, so I began to do a little research."

There are 3,500 volunteer-driven DFS chapters in 1,100 communities that service students nationwide. Typically, each chapter is small, rural and is self-funded. This is where a corporate chapter like Cobalt Mortgage can truly make an impact.

Cobalt Mortgage, which is now the first official DFS corporate chapter, has created a 501(c)(3) so that individuals, businesses and other corporations can create a scholarship without having to enter into the entire non-profit process. This way, the third party can offer a scholarship in his or her name and present the award, but not be weighed down with more work.

"Through my own interaction with DFS, I know we have touched the lives of so many students," Garrett said. "Then you see them volunteer and pay it forward with their own scholarships - it's amazing! This program is my heart and soul and I hope our partnership will make it easier for others to get involved."

For more information, visit www.cobaltmortgage.com/dfs.

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