Sallie Mae Surprises Father of Quadruplets with $40,000 on 'Steve Harvey Show'

NEWARK, Del.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--

A Phoenix, Ariz, father who lost his wife after she gave birth to their quadruplets is now one step closer to fulfilling her dream for their children: a college education. Sallie Mae, the nation's saving, planning, and paying for college company, provided $10,000 for each of Carlos Morales's quadruplets to start a college savings fund in a surprise that aired on "The Steve Harvey Show" on June 11.

The Morales family was the subject of a series of People magazine articles, after Carlos's wife, Erica, died just eight hours after giving birth to Tracy, Erica, Paisley, and Carlos Jr. on Jan. 15. Shortly after his wife's sudden passing, Carlos found a note she had written about her dreams for their children, one of which was for them all to receive a college education.

Sallie Mae partnered with The Steve Harvey Show and People magazine to surprise an emotional Carlos, who is raising the babies as a single father, at his front door with four $10,000 checks, one for each baby's college savings fund, along with a truck full of supplies for the newborns.

"No one should ever have to experience such a tragedy, and our hearts go out to the Morales family. We are inspired by Carlos, who through it all, has remained filled with hope for his four children," said Martha Holler, senior vice president, Sallie Mae. "And when we heard that one of Erica's wishes was for her children to one day attend college, we wanted to help make that dream a reality. We are honored to provide this investment in their future and look forward to doing all we can to help Carlos and his children save for college."

Video of Carlos receiving the surprise from Steve Harvey and Sallie Mae is on YouTube.

For more information on how to save, plan and pay responsibly for college visit www.SallieMae.com.

Sallie Mae SLM is the nation's saving, planning, and paying for college company. Whether college is a long way off or just around the corner, Sallie Mae offers products that promote responsible personal finance, including private education loans, Upromise rewards, scholarship search, college financial planning tools, and online retail banking. Learn more at SallieMae.com. Commonly known as Sallie Mae, SLM Corporation and its subsidiaries are not sponsored by or agencies of the United States of America.

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