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This year, 600 employees at KFC restaurants across the country were awarded over $1.3 million in college tuition assistance from the KFC Foundation thanks to KFC Franchisees, including Middlesboro’s own JRS Restaurant Corporation.

Through a competitive selection process, Middlesboro resident Joshua Prater and Tazewell resident Makayla Wilson were chosen as winners via the REACH Educational Grant Program and will receive $2,000 and $2,500 respectively for the 2020 academic year.

The REACH Grant helps KFC U.S. restaurant employees pursue their educational dreams at four-year and two-year colleges, including trade/vocational and graduate schools.

Josh Prater, a senior at Bell County High School, plans to pursue an engineering degree from either the University of Kentucky or Tennessee Tech. Makayla Wilson is a junior at Lincoln Memorial University pursuing a nursing degree.

The program takes inspiration from Colonel Harland Sanders and his passion for helping people be their best selves through education.

“The KFC Family has a long and rich history of philanthropy,” says Emma Horn, managing director of the KFC Foundation. “We’re proud to be able to honor the Colonel’s legacy and help this inspiring, hard-working group of students.”

The KFC Foundation, an independent 501c3 non-profit organization, is committed to providing accessible support and development opportunities to KFC U.S. restaurant employees.

Since 2006, the Foundation has awarded $20 million to more than 6,400 students and KFC restaurant employees, assisting them in going to college, earning a GED, managing personal finances and getting through hardship/crisis situations.

The KFC Foundation’s charitable programs are made possible through the generosity of KFC’s many franchisees and KFC Corporation.