Bellator MMA fighter, BJJ brown belt, and UFC veteran Cat Zingano has teamed up with Bold.org to set up a $10,000 scholarship that will go to “a student who is fighting through the loss of a loved one and is in need of financial support for their education as they move forward,” according to a press release sent to the Jiu-Jitsu Times.
The update comes just a few days before Zingano is scheduled to face Olivia Parker at Bellator 256.
According to the release, the scholarship was inspired by Zingano’s own personal struggles throughout her life. Zingano’s mother passed away in 2005 after a battle with brain cancer while Cat was still in college and had just learned that she was pregnant with her son. In 2014, Cat’s husband and coach, Mauricio, took his own life.
“The impact of losing my loved ones changed my life,” said Zingano. “I’m so grateful for the support and resources that many have offered me over the years. Struggling with loss is never easy, and it never goes away. Now I want to be that support for someone else through a $10,000 Overcoming Loss Scholarship available on Bold.org. This scholarship is for students who have lost a loved one and are still grinding away toward their education. I know at times I’ve needed help, so now I’m paying it forward to someone who has experienced loss and needs help, just as I did.”
The application deadline for the Overcoming Loss scholarship is October 5, 2021; the winner will be announced a month later on November 5.
The scholarship is part of Bold.org’s “Year of Giving” campaign, in which the organization is striving to create a $10,000 scholarship for each month of 2021. They’ve previously teamed up with DJ 3LAU, NFL player JuJu Smith-Schuster, NASCAR driver Bubba Wallace, and musical band Imagine Dragons. The organization plans to announce a $100,000 scholarship — their biggest yet — at the end of the year.
Zingano signed with Bellator near the end of 2019, making (and winning) her promotional debut against Gabrielle Holloway last September.
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