COMMUNITY COMMENTARY:
Glendale graduating seniors who need and deserve financial support to continue their education are urged to contact their high school counselor to get information and an application for a scholarship.
The month of February is the time to obtain and complete an application for the Glendale Scholarship Endowment. High school counselors can assist students and provide them and their parents with information on the Scholarship Endowment and the many other scholarships that the Community Foundation of the Verdugos provides.
Recently, during the College and Career Fair at the Glendale Civic Auditorium, hundreds of parents and students stopped by the Glendale Scholarship Endowment information desk. We ran out of materials. It was very clear that the need and interest in scholarships and financial aid among students and their parents was very strong.
It is of grave concern that the availability of scholarships and financial aid to graduating seniors who want and deserve to continue their education after high school is shrinking. State and federal financial aid has either dried up or is very limited. Colleges and universities face severe strain on their budgets with projected cuts and reductions. Needy and deserving students and their parents face difficult challenges ahead.
But all is not bleak and gloomy. Glendale students can apply for a scholarship to help them continue their education after graduating from high school.
The Glendale Scholarship Endowment, in conjunction with the Community Foundation of the Verdugos, has been awarded a $298,000 grant this year from the College Access Foundation of California for new and renewed endowment scholarships. The grant funds will be awarded this June at ceremonies at the Glendale Civic Auditorium.
This is the third year that the Glendale Scholarship Endowment has been awarded a grant from College Access. A total of more than $620,000 in scholarships has been awarded to more than 400 Glendale graduates during the past five years.
The Glendale community’s support of the Glendale Scholarship Endowment and the Community Foundation through donations and fundraising activities has been incredibly generous.
Donations to the Glendale Scholarship Endowment are never spent and are held in perpetuity by the Community Foundation. Annual scholarships are awarded from the investment and interest income earned.
Those who are fortunate and able to make a tax-deductible donation to the scholarship fund are urged to send a check payable to: GSE/Community Foundation, 330 Arden Ave. Suite 130, Glendale, CA 91203.
CHUCK SAMBAR is a Glendale resident and a member of the Glendale Unified School District Board of Education.