The Screen Actors Guild Foundation has awarded $401,000 in scholarships to 122 SAG-AFTRA members and their children through its John L. Dales Scholarship Fund. Awards ranged from $3,000 to $5,000 and were granted to eligible SAG-AFTRA members and their dependents for study at accredited institutions of higher education for the 2015-2016 school year.

“It’s a real struggle to afford college and without the help of scholarships, I would not be able to attend USC,” said Zaire Overton, daughter of SAG-AFTRA members Bill and Jayne Overton and recipient of a 2015 John L. Dales Scholarship. “I’m extremely grateful to the SAG Foundation and honored to receive this award. It’s important to me that the Foundation believes in my education and is investing in my future.”

“What a blessing it is for me and my family to have the support of the SAG Foundation and this scholarship program,” said Bill Overton, SAG-AFTRA member. “The John L. Dales scholarships have helped my wife and me put our three daughters through college and made it possible for these three young girls to evolve into amazing women and leaders.”

John L. Dales served as the Executive Secretary of the Screen Actors Guild from 1943-1973 and helped to usher in a period of labor reforms that continue to benefit SAG-AFTRA members today. Since the John L. Dales Scholarship Fund was established in 1973, more than $6.5 million has been awarded to 1,852 union members and their dependents. The Fund became part of the SAG Foundation in 1987.

The application for the 2016 Dales Scholarship competition will be available on November 1, 2015. For more information, visit sagfoundation.org/dales. Media contact: Caroline O’Connor, Director of Communications, (213) 400-8401, coconnor@sagfoundation.org. For more information, visit sagfoundation.org.