Young Football Mentor One Step Closer to College

A Rockville Centre kid that co-founded a Malverne youth football league has been awarded a $1,000 scholarship from Kohl’s.

About three years ago, Michael Taylor, 13, told his father, also Michael Taylor (a trustee on the Malverne school board), that he wished there was a youth athletic organization that gave back to the community. That led to the formation of the Malverne Wildcats youth football league. The younger Michael has used his allowance to buy equipment and jerseys for the team. 

“The Wildcats is a great program for any young man,” Michael said. “It’s hard work and dedication.”

Michael, a soon-to-be eighth grader at Howard T. Herber Middle School who plays football, lacrosse and baseball, mentors children his age and younger. He also started participating in Relay for Life after one of his grandfathers died of lung cancer. Michael’s team, YOLO (You Only Live Once) has raised thousands of dollars for cancer research.

The 13-year-old Kohl’s Cares Scholarship Program honors nearly 200 volunteers with $1,000 scholarships toward higher education. Michael was one of 15 children from the New York-area that were chosen from more than 35,000 nominees nationwide for making a positive impact in their local communities.

“Winners are chosen based on initiative, leadership, generosity and project benefits and outcome,” according to a Kohl’s press release. 

Each regional-level winner qualifies for one of Kohl’s 10 national scholarships, which will be announced at the end of July. National winners will each receive a total of $10,000 in scholarships and Kohl’s will donate $1,000 to a nonprofit organization on each national winner’s behalf. In total, Kohl’s will recognize more than 2,300 young volunteers with more than $400,000 in scholarships and prizes.

Michael’s mother, Erica Taylor, said her son is already thinking about college and wants to play football at University of Michigan.

“I’m very excited,” Michael said about the scholarship. “Going to college is something I always wanted to do and getting a step closer makes me feel good.”