Napa Valley Community Foundation (NVCF) has awarded scholarships totaling $249,800 to 77 local students. Among this year’s scholarship recipients: local military veterans who are receiving financial support thanks to The George and Gwendolyn Goodin Scholarship Fund, a permanent endowment that was established at NVCF with a gift from the estate of George and Gwendolyn Goodin, longtime residents of Yountville; recent graduates from local public high schools and Napa Valley College students, many of whom are the first in their family to pursue a four-year college education, courtesy of The Fruit of the Vine Scholarship Fund, which is renewable every year and was established by an anonymous Napa Valley winegrower; and NVCF’s newest Scholarship Fund, the Daisy Cavalli Scholarship Fund, which benefits graduating seniors who attend a Napa Valley Unified School District high school and will be enrolling in a trade/vocational school, community college, or four-year college/university, and provides funding for every year that the student is enrolled as a full-time student.
Also included are scholarship recipients from the following Funds: The Edward W. Solomon and the Judith B. Cutcomb Scholarship Funds for teachers throughout the Valley; The Ted Kohler Music Scholarship Fund for Calistoga students studying music; and, The Lenore Hirsch-Jay Falk Scholarship Fund for Napa County students who have worked hard to overcome academic challenges, and will attend a two- or four-year college program in general education.
Scholarship awards ranged from $250 to $8,000 per student for the next academic year, and the average amount awarded was $2,290. Approximately 49 percent of scholarship recipients are enrolling at University of California campuses or private universities; 31 percent have enrolled in the California State University system; and 14 percent have enrolled in Napa Valley College. This year, 64 percent of recipients will be first in their families to attend college.
“We are particularly proud, this year, to help bridge the gap between talent and opportunities,” said NVCF President Terence Mulligan. “These students have shown tremendous resilience as they begin their post-secondary education, and our donors understand that scholarships often are the boost deserving students need to turn their goals into reality.”
Information regarding 2021 scholarships will be available in January 2021 at napavalleycf.org, or by contacting Napa Valley Community Foundation at 707.254.9565 or scholarships@napavalleycf.org.
If you’d like to learn more about setting up, or contributing to, a Scholarship Fund at NVCF, please contact us.