CHESTNUT HILL, MA – Rachel Polansky, of Belmont, Ma, has received a Simon Youth Foundation Community Scholarship valued at $1,400. The scholarship is awarded in partnership between Mall at Chestnut Hill and Simon Youth Foundation, a national non-profit organization dedicated to providing educational and career development opportunities to youth.

Polansky is a recent graduate of Belmont High School and exemplified herself through academic excellence, leadership skills, and participation in both school and community activities.  She plans to study Psychology at the University of Vermont in the fall.

“We are very proud of the Simon Youth Scholarships program, because it has given us the opportunity to support the academic endeavors of promising youth right here in our community,” says Candice Beaulieu, Director of Mall Marketing at Mall at Chestnut Hill.

With a combined value of more than $1 million, Simon Youth Scholarships have been awarded this spring to at least one student in every nationwide community that is home to a Simon^® property. The highly competitive program awarded one scholarship for every five applicants that applied at SYF.org or their local Simon property.

“Anything is possible with education, and Simon Youth Foundation is committed to igniting this kind of hope in students,” says J. Michael Durnil, Ph.D., President and CEO of SYF.  “We are proud that our Simon Youth Scholarships help remove financial obstacles that would otherwise prevent deserving young people from pursuing the dream to attend college or another post-secondary institution.”

About SYF

Simon Youth Foundation, established in 1998, operates 23academies in 13 U.S. states that give at-risk students the same education they would receive in a traditional classroom while offering the flexibility that their individual circumstances require. Recipient of the Crystal Star Award of Excellence in Dropout Prevention from the National Dropout Prevention Center, the foundation has helped more than 8,000 students earn their high school diploma and provided more than $9.5 million in post-secondary education scholarships to 3,200 students in 42 states. The Education Commission of the United States has recognized the foundation with its Corporate Award for sustained and substantial investment in improving public education.

About Mall at Chestnut Hill

The Mall at Chestnut Hill, a Simon property, is an upscale, two-level enclosed shopping mall, located in the Chestnut Hill section of Newton, Massachusetts on Boylston Street (Route 9). Anchored by Bloomingdale's in two locations, with the Women's store located at the west end and the Men's Home & Furnishing store anchoring the east end, the Mall at Chestnut Hill offers shoppers an enjoyable and fashionable shopping experience with fine merchandise from over 60 specialty boutiques.