New Haven Schools Foundation Awards Over $100,000 in College Scholarships

Nearly 100 local high school seniors received a boost toward funding their college educations.

The New Haven Schools Foundation (NHSF) awarded a record-breaking $100,000 in scholarships to graduating seniors at its annual award luncheon on Wednesday, April 29.

The awards were presented to students from James Logan High School, Conley-Caraballo High School, and the Decoto School for Independent Studies.

The total value of the awards increased 20% over 2014, and 99 students received funds for higher education – 22 more than last year. This is the most ever awarded since the nonprofit Foundation was formed.

Scholarships are funded by individuals, businesses, and organizations via a program coordinated by NHSF to manage the application and selection processes. “In response to the rising costs of a college education, many of our scholarship sponsors generously increased the value of their awards this year,” said Cynthia O’Brien, president of the Foundation. “We welcomed a number of new scholarship sponsors to our program, as well.”

This year, NHSF distributed the first multi-year scholarships through a new partnership with the Ohlone College Foundation. Three “Ohlone Promise” scholarships, valued at $3,600 each, were offered by the college and presented at the NHSF award luncheon. The “full ride” awards will cover 100% of tuition, books, and fees for the recipients.

“Some scholarship sponsors increased their awards by using innovative fundraising techniques,” said Helen Kennedy, Executive Director of the New Haven Schools Foundation. Two scholarships were advertised on the NHSF CrowdRise.com website, a popular crowd-sourcing platform that makes it easy for new donors to contribute to a scholarship fund. A number of other scholarship sponsors, like the Migrant Parent Committee for Education and the Bay Bombs Car Club, held fundraising events.

Two special awards were presented at the event. Eileen Riener was given the 2015 Guy Emanuele Community Service Award in appreciation for her years of dedicated work as a volunteer and board member. The Tom Kitayama Business Service Award was presented to Kaiser Permanente, a longtime sponsor and supporter of NHSF.

Major sponsors for the event were Fremont Bank and Kaiser Permanente.