JOSEPH JAMES MORELLI LEGACY FOUNDATION

Raise awareness and provide financial and emotional support for struggling young adults with learning challenges like dyslexia. Help these students achieve their potential through recognition, financial support and visibility. We have learned over the last 8 years that the financial support is important but even more important is the recognition, ongoing mentoring and educational outreach that we provide to the students and the families. We want to continue to support these students through their educational journey and help them become successful in their life and careers.

-Outreach - Social media, search engines, letters, and quarterly updates and emails to donors and partners
-Our website: www.morelli.foundation
-Partnerships with high schools, universities, and post secondary institutions across the country such as supporting the Montana State University Dyslexia Initiative and creating a Bicentennial Scholarship for postgraduate students at UVA, Curry School of Education for work on Dyslexia
-Collaborations and partnerships with for profit and nonprofit organizations who have similar and aligned missions (PC Reads, Reading Horizons, Wilson Foundation, National Center for Learning Disabilities)
-Personal outreach, one on one meetings, fundraisers (Live PC Give PC, Amy's event in Massachusetts and our annual Park City Celebration Event)
-Partnering with folks like Jake Sussman and his Forgotten Child and began a mentorship program in 2020 (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YBcW-T7pAnw)
-Our awardees and their families are our strongest assets to help us accomplish our goals - they inspire us

We have national outreach, international recognition and outreach through a TedX talk, radio recordings, a website and social media that enable us to raise awareness, raise money, increase our donor pool and applicant pool.
We have a dedicated and committed volunteer committee and well established and accomplished Board.
We have a well established platform (Survey Money) for applicants to apply through and a rigorous review committee. Our Scholarship Review Committee is made up of educators specializing in students with learning disabilities, physicians, and business leaders. This Committee undertakes a very thorough process of reviewing every application in detail and after much deliberation and review of roughly 200 applicants , recommends awardees to the Board for approval.
We have now upwards of 77 students who would like to volunteer and give back to other awardees through our organization. These young adults are particularly appreciative of our Foundation and see the value of supporting others and raising awareness.
We are partnering with the The Curry School of Education at University of Virginia to better understand the gaps in teacher Special ED training

Our awardees and their families are one our our strongest assets to help us accomplish our goals - they inspire us.

Here are a few of our accomplishments since inception. We are now a stand alone 501(c)(3) organization after being under the umbrella of the Park City Community Foundation. We incorporated as the Joseph James Morelli Legacy Foundation, Inc.

-We have national reach and impact, working with the National Center for Learning Disabilities.
-We are listed on numerous scholarship platforms and search engines.
-We have increased our donations and donor base by roughly 10- 20 % each year.
-We initiated the Joseph James Morelli Endowed Fellowship with the Curry School of Education at the University of Virginia to support a graduate student struggling with Learning Challenges (dyslexia) to help better understand the gaps in teacher training and education.
-We are one of only a few scholarships in the U.S. for young adults with dyslexia.
-Since 2014 we have supported 77 students with $150,000!
-Since 2015 we have received a total of 600+ scholarship applications.
-In 2019 we awarded $66,000 to 41 students in 28 states.
-We helped to initiate a Task Force at the University of Utah to improve the accommodations awarded to the students.
- Joseph was a MSU student in the College of Engineering; we were the featured Scholarship at the 2019 Montana State Inaugural Dyslexia Initiative Symposium
- Dr. Barbara Wirostko was asked to give a TedX talk in Bozeman, Montana last April 2019 on Joseph’s story.
- Most importantly and these students tell us again and again that we impact them - we Recognize their struggles, we Empower them, and show that we Believe in them. Check out their quotes on our webpage: www.morelli.foundation
- Each year we hold events in Utah and around the country to raise awareness of the importance of this work.

What is next is our focus on continuing to grow our donors, continuing to raise awareness and continuing to provide scholarships and support to deserving students. We would also like to start to provide scholarships for testing. Earlier recognition of the underlying challenge can make a significant difference. We would aim to help identify struggling young adults/students who may be failing and provide the testing which could enable them to receive an IEP and/or 504 plan which will allow for accommodations. These accommodations once in place can change the trajectory of a failing/struggling young adult. As they did for Joseph.