Lawyer’s Donation to Help Quake Victims

In an effort to reach out to San Fernando Valley students affected by the Northridge earthquake, a Claremont attorney has donated $50,000 in scholarships to help first-time community college students at Valley College in Van Nuys.

“Because of the earthquake, I figured those kids probably need a lot of help,” said attorney Herbert Hafif, who donated the scholarships. “Some of them, they’ve lost their houses. They’ve been through a lot.”

The donation to the college is part of a four-way split of $200,000 in scholarships Hafif donated this week to community colleges. The other colleges receiving a Hafif donation of $50,000 are Mt. San Antonio College in Walnut, Chaffey College in Alta Loma and Rancho Santiago College in Santa Ana.

The funds will be divided into 25 scholarships of $1,000 for each community college for two years and will be available to students beginning with the fall semester.

College officials will determine at a later date the criteria for the scholarships, but Hafif hinted that it will be based in part on those who have suffered personal hardship.

Hafif said he wanted to grant the money to community college students because he feels they have been overlooked by scholarship donors. He also said he could relate to their experience and serve as a role model, not just “some guy who wants his name on a building.”

After serving as a paratrooper, Hafif could not afford to attend a private college. So, he enrolled at Chaffey College, where he went on to earn scholarships that eventually led to a degree from USC School of Law in 1956. He now runs his own law firm with 13 attorneys.

“I think maybe if they see there was a guy who lived in a $35-a-month apartment,” Hafif said, “who suffered along with them in wondering if I was ever going to finish school or not, maybe when they pass through it themselves, they’ll pass along the favor.”