Kentucky Attorney General Jack Conway released an online donation application that allows citizens to contribute tax-deductible donations to The Sarah Shay and Michael Donta Memorial Scholarships for Hope and Healing through the Office of the Attorney General’s website. The $1,500 college scholarships were created last year to assist graduating high school students in Kentucky who have excelled in their personal and academic lives despite seeing firsthand the devastating consequences of prescription drug abuse. Online donations to the scholarship fund may be made by visiting the secure, mobile-friendly website at http://ag.ky.gov/rxabuse/Pages/scholarship.aspx.

“Our new online donation application on ag.ky.gov is an important tool that will help us expand and maintain a scholarship program that is providing strong, determined teens across the Commonwealth a chance at a college education and a brighter future,” Attorney General Conway said. “The toll that prescription painkiller abuse has taken on Kentucky families is alarming. This scholarship program is a wonderful opportunity for teenagers impacted by prescription drug abuse to realize there is always hope, and I’m proud that this money will be used once again to benefit two young people who have embraced a positive lifestyle for themselves and their families.”

Attorney General Conway and his office partnered with Kentucky Interactive, LLC to provide the online donation application at no cost to the scholarship fund or contributors. Kentucky Interactive, LLC developed the secure and mobile-friendly application in a week, utilizing their payment processing engine.

About The Sarah Shay and Michael Donta Memorial Scholarships for Hope and Healing

Created in 2013, the “Sarah Shay and Michael Donta Memorial Scholarships for Hope and Healing” are in memory of 19-year-old Sarah Shay and 24-year-old Michael Donta. Shay, of Morehead, Ky., died of a prescription drug overdose in 2006. Donta, of Ashland, Ky., lost his battle with prescription painkiller abuse in 2010. Sarah and Michael’s parents, Dr. Karen Shay and Mike Donta, now travel across Kentucky with Attorney General Jack Conway to help educate middle and high school students about the dangers of prescription drug abuse. Through the Keep Kentucky Kids Safe program, Attorney General Conway and his partners have shared their important message with more than 45,000 students, teachers, and parents statewide.

The Office of the Attorney General is able to offer these scholarships thanks to the generosity of the National Association of Drug Diversion Investigators (NADDI) and private donations. For more information on the scholarship applications and eligibility requirements, please visit http://ag.ky.gov/rxabuse/Pages/scholarship.aspx.

About Kentucky.gov

Kentucky.gov is the official government web portal of the Commonwealth of Kentucky (www.kentucky.gov). Kentucky.gov is a collaborative effort between the Commonwealth of Kentucky and Kentucky Interactive, LLC. Frankfort-based Kentucky Interactive provides a secure, mobile-friendly platform that allows government agencies of any size to conduct business online and improve public access to information. Kentucky Interactive is part of eGovernment firm NIC’s (NASDAQ: EGOV) family of companies.

About NIC

Founded in 1992, NIC (NASDAQ: EGOV) is the nation's leading provider of official government websites, online services, and secure payment processing solutions. The company's innovative eGovernment services help make government more accessible to everyone through technology. The family of NIC companies provides eGovernment solutions for more than 3,500 federal, state, and local agencies in the United States. Forbes has named NIC as one of the “100 Best Small Companies in America” five times, most recently ranked at No. 11 (2013), and the company has been included four times on the Barron’s 400 Index. Additional information is available at http://www.egov.com.