I LOVE this Season!

I’m not speaking about winter, although I am really enjoying the rainy weather and the fact there is so much snow in our California Mountains!

This is the Ventura County Community Foundation (VCCF) Scholarship Application Season! With the deadline fast approaching for all applications, the most common items in my Inbox lately are questions from local students nervously writing their essays or filling out the complex financial questionnaire to determine eligibility.

These students have hopes and dreams for their futures, and because of the generosity of so many Ventura County residents, close to 1000 scholarships are set to be awarded this spring.

For many of our donors, the awarding of their scholarship(s) is a way to honor the passing of a loved one. Sometimes these scholarships are in memory of a parent, a sibling, a grandparent, or even a child. My family, for example, has two scholarships we support each year in memory of loved ones lost, and for us, the awarding of these funds is a meaningful way to celebrate their lives and to help honor their legacies by supporting others with similar passions.

For some, just the ideas of opening doors to higher education or fighting against the rising economic inequality that continues to persist on a local and national scale, is motivation enough to get involved and give.

For those that give and who strive to recognize the potential in each of these students, we say,”THANK YOU!!”
And, to all you students who are courageously running towards your dreams, we shout, “WE BELIEVE IN YOU!!”

 

Sincerely,

Vanessa