Melania Trump announces new foster scholarships ahead of IndyCar DC event

First lady Melania Trump announced a new round of scholarships for foster children Thursday in partnership with IndyCar and Fox Corporation.

The two companies donated $2 million to fund scholarships at Indiana and Purdue Universities.

“Tomorrow’s leaders are sitting in classrooms today, including those growing up in foster care. Their capability is no less remarkable,” the first lady said during the event in the White House’s Rose Garden.

“Fostering the Future elevates America’s youth based on merit and talent, lifting them beyond economic circumstance and every other condition that may limit opportunity,” she added.

The announcement comes ahead of the Freedom 250 Grand Prix race through Washington on Sunday.

The first lady was presented with a specially designed helmet by IndyCar’s drivers. It is red, white and blue with a star on top, along with her name and “BE BEST” and “Fostering the Future” inscribed on it.

“Thinking about the young people that are here today, they’re going to be the benefactors, have an education, build a career, and I might say, many of them might be the leaders of our country and our business,” said Roger Penske, founder and chair of the Penske Corporation and owner of IndyCar.

The first lady has been a big advocate for children in foster care. She launched Fostering the Future in 2021, an initiative that focuses on supporting educational opportunities for children in foster care.

It’s part of her broader “BE BEST” initiative launched during President Trump’s first term. Fostering the Future is now part of 26 colleges and universities around the country.

President Trump signed an executive order last November that advanced Melania Trump’s Fostering the Future initiatives.

And earlier this year, she lobbied Congress to pass a set of bipartisan reforms that would modernize a program for young people transitioning out of the foster system.

The House Ways and Means Committee has been pushing for legislation to modernize the Chafee program, which helps foster youth aged 14-21 who have aged out of the program.

The proposals would focus on the state utilization of Chafee funds; expand education, training opportunities and access to legal services; and improve support for foster youth that are or about to become parents.

“New legislation for the foster care community is a moral imperative,” Melania Trump said earlier this year. “Beginning here in this room, we can once again change people’s lives. With the new legislation, we can ensure that the opportunity is more than helpful for individuals in the foster care community. It can be their birthright.”

The legislation passed the House in May but has yet to be passed in the Senate.

Marc Beckman, senior adviser to the first lady, told USA Today that Melania Trump is “personally involved” in calling on Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-S.D.) and “trying to get him to force a vote because it was passed infamously in the House.

“She is working behind the scenes,” he added.