Correction: An earlier version of this article originally stated that Pete Kornafel and his wife Annie will match dollar-for-dollar any first time donations to the GAAS scholarship fund up to $10,000. In fact, the Kornafels actually will match up to $15,000.

CHICAGO — The number of students looking for financial help with their aftermarket training and education is increasing, according to Pete Kornafel, chairman of the Global Automotive Aftermarket Symposium (GAAS) Scholarship Committee.

This year, Kornafel and the rest of the Scholarship Committee have reviewed roughly 523 applications for scholarship funds — that’s up from 375 applications in 2010. And, Kornafel notes, the committee saw a significant increase in adult applicants this year as well.

The GAAS Scholarship program is funded by registration fees for the annual executive leadership event.

“Your attendance here today helps support this program,” Kornafel told GAAS attendees. “We have a huge number of deserving candidates. We have many more good kids than we do money.”

In an effort to help close that gap, Kornafel, who said he was taught to “put your money where your mouth is,” will, along with his wife Annie, match first-time donations to the scholarship program dollar-for-dollar, up to $15,000.

Over the past few years, national and state/regional industry associations have joined forces to centralize their own scholarship programs through the GAAS Scholarship program. A host of opportunities are now available to students through www.automotivescholarships.org.

So far this year, the GAAS Scholarship program has presented 86 U.S. applicants with 87 scholarship awards ranging form $1,000 to $2,500. In one extreme case, Kornafel said, a student qualified for six different scholarships through the program. In addition, 8 Canadian students will be presented scholarships through the program this summer.