For the past 19 years, UniGroup, Inc., the parent company of United Van Lines and other transportation-related companies, has shown its support for the athletic programs of St. Louis Community College-Meramec by donating to the Meramec Athletic scholarship fund. This year, UniGroup contributed $5,000 to the fund. More than 1,650 student-athletes have received financial assistance since the scholarship fund’s inception in 1985.

“We are proud to offer continued support of the students at Meramec,” said Pat Larch, president of Transportation Services Group, a UniGroup company. “This is just one of the ways that our company shows its commitment to the community.”

Bob Bottger, director for P.E. and Athletics at Meramec, expressed the College’s gratitude for UniGroup’s long-standing commitment and explained that the company’s generosity reaches far beyond the campus: “Over 80 percent of our athletes are from the local area, and they tend to remain in the area most of their lives. So their success becomes the community’s success.”

St. Louis Community College is the largest community college system in Missouri and one of the largest in the United States. The college serves an area of approximately 700 square miles that includes the City of St. Louis, St. Louis County and portions of Jefferson and Franklin counties.

UniGroup, Inc. is one of the nation’s largest privately owned transportation companies. Its world headquarters offices are located in Fenton, Mo.