LEANDER, Texas — The Southwest Drycleaners Association (SDA) is offering scholarships of up to $3,000 for members of the SDA or the Drycleaning & Laundry Institute (DLI) to be used for professional development. This includes DLI’s School of Drycleaning, virtual stain removal classes, self-study courses or in-house training by a consultant. 

The SDA awards two scholarships a year towards professional development and one for an in-house consultant. Applications must be received by Tuesday, May 26. 

Part of the SDA’s Gerald Stavely Education Fund, the financial assistance pays up to $3,000 to be used towards registration fees, hotel and flight expenses or consultant fee.  

Professional Development Scholarship — In order to qualify for the professional development scholarship, applicants must be a full-time employee or owner of an SDA/DLI member. SDA/DLI members can receive one scholarship every three years, and awarded funds are mailed after all receipts, a photo and re-cap of the experience have been submitted to SDA. The applicant must register at least four weeks prior to the class start date.

On-Site Consultant Scholarship — An on-site consultant scholarship allows the recipient to bring a consultant directly into their company to assist them with improving their business and/or provide training to their staff. This scholarship is for an on-site consultant and cannot be used for a multi-month consultant membership. The consultant must be an SDA- or DLI-approved consultant. If they are not pre-approved, the recipient may submit a consultant to be vetted by the SDA Education Committee. The consultant’s work must be completed and receipts submitted by April 15, 2027.

Education Courses — Courses eligible for scholarships are:

• DLI’s Introduction to Drycleaning, a five-day course held on July 13-17 or October 5-9
• DLI’s Advanced Drycleaning, a 10-day course held July 20-31 or October 12-23
• DLI’s Intro and Advance Drycleaning, a 15-day course held July 13-31 or October 5-23.

For more information or to apply for the scholarships, visit the SDA website.