VAN NUYS : 4 Win Grants From Memorial Fund

Four students from Grant High School in Van Nuys, which turned out such musicians as the late Jeff Porcaro during the 1970s, have been awarded $1,000 scholarships from a memorial fund for the former drummer of the rock band Toto.

The seniors, artists Tatiana Redin and Tito Tagarao and musicians Jennifer Lee and Lonee Frailich, were granted the money, which was donated to Porcaro’s family in the months since the Grant alumnus collapsed last year at his Hidden Hills home and died.

“When Jeff died, the money just started pouring in from all over the world,” said Susan Norris Porcaro, his widow and former Hidden Hills city councilwoman. “I knew he would have wanted the money to go to music and to Grant.”

The scholarships, which are unrestricted, will be awarded to four outstanding artists and musicians for the next 40 years, she said.

Several thousand dollars from the Porcaro memorial fund also went to purchase instruments, keyboards, chairs, a mixing board, sheet music and other supplies for the music and art department.

The contribution is a timely one for Grant, which like other institutions, has felt the pinch of tough fiscal times.

“This is very helpful for our program,” Grant Principal Robert Collins said. “But the scholarships are especially beneficial. I think when you know that you’re being recognized or that there’s a possibility you will be recognized, it spurs you on.”