Thirty-four local employees at the Wegmans stores in Malvern and Downingtown will receive tuition assistance in September through the Wegmans Employee Scholarship Program.

In all, the company is awarding more than $4.91 million in scholarships to new and returning scholars during the 2014/15 school year.

From the Downingtown store, winners are: Grace Bernardo, Olivia Bertram, Max Buxcaglia, Danielle Drenth, Daniel Field, Meghan Hubbard, Andrew Johnson, Danielle LaValley, Nicholas Lapenta, Jose Mestre, Jasmine Thomas, Andrew Vance, Nicholas Walker, Quentil Walker, Christopher Wassmer, Rebecca Willett, Janosh Wolters, Chenoa Wolters and Julie Young.

From the Malvern store, winners are: Rebekah Debarberie, Melissa Dolan, Melanie Hartman, Brian Kempinski, Andrew Kenkelen, Charles Lett Jr., Ashley Maister, Jun Murray, Elizabeth Reiner, Justin Risell, Andrew Russell, Mary Tang, Sarah Thompson, Christopher Tiberi and Chelsea Walker.

“My grandfather established this long-standing tradition with the aim of helping young people succeed,” said Colleen Wegman, company president. “The program has grown considerably, and we’re proud to continue helping our people reach their academic and career goals.”

Wegmans stores are offering a free cake celebration for employees and customers from noon to 2 p.m. Saturday, June 7 in recognition of scholarship winners and graduates. Part-time employee scholarship recipients may receive up to $1,500 per year for four years (up to $6,000) and full-time employees may receive up to $2,200 a year for four years (up to $8,800).

The company says many scholarship winners remain with Wegmans after college and continue to grow their careers within the company.

Links: www.wegmans.com