This fund was established by New York Times best-selling author James Patterson who has a passion for books and reading. He believes one way to champion books and reading is by supporting future teachers. Through his foundation, the Patterson Family Foundation, James Patterson is providing scholarships to incoming eligible elementary education students for four years. The scholarship recipients will be obligated to submit a written essay by the end of the academic year in which they describe how they plan to apply what they have learned in their teacher education program within their future classroom