Community Corner
Riechel Informs: Foundation Invests $100,000 in Seven College-Bound San Bruno Students
SAN BRUNO COMMUNITY FOUNDATION ANNOUNCES INAUGURAL RECIPIENTS OF THE CRESTMOOR NEIGHBORHOOD MEMORIAL SCHOLARSHIP
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
SAN BRUNO COMMUNITY FOUNDATION ANNOUNCES
INAUGURAL RECIPIENTS OF THE CRESTMOOR NEIGHBORHOOD MEMORIAL SCHOLARSHIP
Foundation Invests $100,000 in Seven College-Bound San Bruno Students
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San Bruno, California, May 17, 2016 – The San Bruno Community Foundation today announced the inaugural recipients of the Crestmoor Neighborhood Memorial Scholarship, a brand new program that assists outstanding San Bruno students who have demonstrated a strong commitment to the San Bruno community in obtaining a college degree. The 2016 Crestmoor Scholars include Capuchino High School seniors Alejandra Andrade, Anthony Harvey, Giselle Hengst, Allie Stines, and Erick Sullivan; St. Ignatius College Preparatory senior Jamie Chen; and Skyline College student Leitu Takapu.
The Scholarship Program honors the community members who most directly endured the destruction of the 2010 gas pipeline explosion and resulting fire in San Bruno’s Crestmoor neighborhood, especially the eight San Bruno residents who lost their lives in the disaster. As the neighborhood is reconstructed and the survivors rebuild their lives, the Scholarship Program ensures that the tragedy of September 9, 2010, is not forgotten and that the resiliency, teamwork, leadership, and commitment to community displayed throughout San Bruno in the aftermath of the explosion and fire are honored in the annual recipients of the Scholarship.
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In 2016, the Foundation is awarding multi-year scholarships totaling $100,000. Headed to four-year colleges in the fall, Andrade (who will attend Holly Names University), Chen (UC Berkeley), Harvey (UC San Diego), and Hengst (Vanderbilt University) will each receive a $20,000 scholarship ($5,000 a year for four years). Stines and Sullivan will attend the College of San Mateo and Skyline College, respectively, and will each receive a $5,000 scholarship ($2,500 a year for two years). Transferring from Skyline to San Jose State University, Takapu will receive $10,000 in scholarship funding ($5,000 a year for two years).
“As a 25-year resident of San Bruno, I am inspired by – and in awe of – this year’s Crestmoor Neighborhood Memorial Scholarship recipients,” said Patricia Bohm, a member of the Foundation’s Board of Directors and chair of the committee that created the Scholarship Program. “The Crestmoor Scholars include social justice advocates, musicians, filmmakers, athletes, accomplished students, and – most important – young people committed to giving back to San Bruno. By awarding the Crestmoor Scholarships, the San Bruno Community Foundation invests not just in each individual student, but in the future of our community.”
In the program’s first year, the Foundation received 45 applications for the Crestmoor Scholarship. In selecting the 2016 recipients from a highly competitive applicant pool, the Foundation’s selection panel considered applicants’ demonstrated engagement in the San Bruno community, financial need, academic record, extracurricular activities, and examples of leadership, teamwork, and collaboration – important qualities that were displayed throughout the San Bruno community in the aftermath of the 2010 explosion and fire. Brief biographies of the seven Crestmoor Scholars can be found on the Foundation’s website at www.sbcf.org.
“We are thrilled to assist the first class of Crestmoor Scholars in realizing their dream of pursuing a college degree,” said Leslie Hatamiya, the Foundation’s executive director. “As one of the Foundation’s first program initiatives, the Crestmoor Neighborhood Memorial Scholarship Program marks the beginning of the Foundation’s efforts to use the restitution funds to benefit the San Bruno community – to turn what was a devastating tragedy into something truly wonderful for San Bruno.”
The Foundation will recognize the 2016 Crestmoor Scholars at its June 1, 2016, Board meeting at the San Bruno Senior Center, 1555 Crystal Springs Road. Community members are welcome to attend and will have the opportunity to meet the Crestmoor Scholars at 6:30 p.m. at a reception preceding the 7:00 p.m. Board meeting.
The San Bruno Community Foundation is the nonprofit organization created by the City of San Bruno to administer the $70 million in restitution funds received from PG&E after the devastating 2010 gas pipeline explosion in San Bruno’s Crestmoor neighborhood. The Foundation serves the San Bruno community by investing in projects, programs, services, and facilities that have significant and lasting benefits. Through making grants, leveraging partnerships, and taking advantage of other resources, the SBCF assists and enables the community to maximize shared investments and realize their subsequent enhancements and benefits. For more information, visit www.sbcf.org.CONTACT:
Leslie Hatamiya
Executive Director
O: (650) 763-0775 / M: (650) 922-1223 lhatamiya-sbcf@sanbruno.ca.gov
Photo Credit: San Bruno CA Patch Archives
Source Credit: San Bruno CA Community Foundation
(650) 763-0775 - 901 Sneath Lane, Ste. 209, San Bruno, CA 94066
Web Site: www.sbcf.org/
