Schools
Food Fest Benefits El Toro IB Program
Hundreds attend a Memorial Day weekend fundraiser in support of an elite academic program at Lake Forest's high school.
Hundreds of people turned out Saturday for a fundraiser at El Toro High School to raise money for the school's International Baccalaureate program.
Attendees played games, listened live music, participated in raffles and watched dance performances, but the event's main feature was an assortment of food trucks.
El Toro High School senior Leopoldo Pena, 17, organized the event with the goal of starting a scholarship fund for the IB program.
Find out what's happening in Lake Forestfor free with the latest updates from Patch.
Students from the IB program aimed to raise money for the academic program at the food festival.
"By helping them pay for it, it would give them an incentive to join the IB program," said Aaron Pham, 18, another El Toro High senior who is in the IB program.
Find out what's happening in Lake Forestfor free with the latest updates from Patch.
Due to the budget cuts, funding for the program has been cut, and some students may not be able to afford it, he said.
"IB preps the kids for their college courses," said Molly Binks, 48, of Lake Forest, who attended the fundraiser.
Binks said she came to support the students who are currently in the program.
Another attendee, Nancy Aguilera, 47, said that she is cognizant of the severity of the budget cuts.
"The school needs a lot of help," she said.
Aguilera's daughter attends El Toro High and is part of the school's band, which is also struggling due to budget cuts, she said.
El Toro plans to continue hosting the event in the future.
"Hopefully it will be an annual event from now on," Pena said.
