More than $1 Million in Scholarships Awarded by VCCF

Hundreds of Ventura County’s local students have been awarded a total of $1,074,833 in
scholarships for both higher education and career training by the Ventura County Community
Foundation (VCCF) this week. The 373 scholarships are funded through the generosity of
numerous community philanthropists whose support helps make a college education more
affordable for hardworking and deserving students from throughout Ventura County. The
scholarship winners were selected from a record high number of applications in a highly
competitive process.

The scholarships were presented Thursday, June 6th at a ceremony hosted by the Ventura
County Office of Education. VCCF Board Chair Scott Hansen said, “We are fortunate to live in a
community with such a giving spirit. Thanks to the generosity of our donors, the scholarship
recipients will be able to further their education and follow their dreams.”

Devin Romines, a graduate of Channel Islands High School in Oxnard, is a recipient of the John
and Agnes McFarlane Scholarship and currently attends California Lutheran University. He said,
“In my senior year, my friends and I were told about the wonders of VCCF, where local
benefactors want to give local kids money to go to school. It was, and still is, a dream come
true. I’ve now applied to VCCF for 3 years in a row, and for 3 years I’ve been able to get enough
money to cover my remaining tuition at school. I have been so fortunate at the hands of the
wonderful donors here, and cannot even begin to explain the immense gratitude I have for
them, and how much it means to me that I can go to college debt free. I am so lucky to have
grown up in this community that values higher education and believes in helping its students
attain their goals.”

Since its inception, the VCCF scholarship program has awarded more than $16 million in
scholarships. Additional information about the program is available here.