The Ramos Family Endowed Scholarship Fund awarded $15,000 in six scholarships to homeless and foster youth on Thursday, August 23, 2018, at the fund’s inaugural awards luncheon in Redlands.
Last year, a gift of $50,000 was made by San Bernardino County Board of Supervisor James Ramos and his family to establish an endowed scholarship at Children’s Fund, a 31-year-old nonprofit focused on the needs of vulnerable children. Donations from this year’s luncheon attendees, supporters, and a match of those gifts from the Ramos Family yielded an additional $82,500 for the endowment, ensuring scholarships for other youth in the future.
The Ramos Family Endowed Scholarship Fund awards scholarships in perpetuity to homeless, transitional, unaccompanied, foster, former foster, extended foster youth, or other vulnerable youth, who are between the ages of 17 and 24 years old. While priority will be given to Native American students, the Ramos Family supports students who are enrolled or accepted at a community college or university, or accredited vocational school in San Bernardino County.
"The pressures our foster and homeless youth face on a daily basis are harder than most people can imagine," said Supervisor Ramos. "Listening to the stories of the scholarship recipients and what they had to endure to get to where they are is exactly why my family decided to make a difference. No student deserves to be ignored. We heard their stories and will do what we can to help them succeed in their educational goals."
Each of the six scholarship recipients received $2,500, of which $1,500 was designated for living expenses.
“College students cannot be expected to learn at their best if they are worried about where they will sleep at night or if they can afford to eat,” said Dr. Ciriaco “Cid” Pinedo, the President & CEO of Children’s Fund. “The Ramos Family Endowed Scholarships allows for a portion of their scholarship to be designated for living and other qualified educational expenses.”
This year’s scholarship recipients are Edo Emoni Dove (California State University, San Bernardino), Juan Manuel Gardado (Chaffey College), Rhakidh Michea Henderson (Victor Valley College), Joshua Isaiah Lara (California State University, San Bernardino), Olu-Ebube Meigs (San Bernardino Valley College), and Destiny Vasquez (California State University, San Bernardino).