The Illinois Student Assistance Commission and the Illinois Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators, Inc., are sponsoring Financial Aid Awareness Month in February for students in Illinois.

“We want to make students throughout Illinois aware of the financial aid that is available to them if they need it,” said Cindy Huebner, spokesman for Sen. Patrick Welch, D-Peru.

“We do not want aid to come in the way for anyone, young or old, who wants to attend college,” Huebner said.

Not only is this event directed toward students, the ISAC is also urging parents to take advantage of the event. “The need for long-range financial planning for parents of young children who want them to attend college will be stressed,” Heubner said.

The legislature recently passed a bill helping parents to invest in their children’s education. The state now offers a bond program where parents can invest before their child is even born. Investing in these bonds can earn parents $5,000 for their child’s education, Huebner said.

Students can learn more about the financial aid available to them by calling a toll-free hotline that will be offered from Feb. 11 to 15 from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. The hotline was offered last year and there was such an overwhelming response that it is being offered again this year, Huebner said.

College students are encouraged to use the hotline as well as parents and high school students intending to go to college.