By Town Crier Report
Under the auspices of the Foothill-De Anza Foundation, the Foothill Commission donated $130,000 raised at its 2006 Summer Benefit Gala to a variety of Foothill College initiatives.
The commission allocated $80,000 to the Bernadine Chuck Fong Innovation Fund, bringing the fund’s total endowment to $170,000. The goal of the fund is to support innovative educational initiatives.
The college’s on-campus tutorial center, peer mentoring program, speech and debate team, and several other programs and services received varying amounts totaling $35,000. The remaining $15,000 will be held in reserve to support programs that require assistance over the course of the year.
“Each year, there are fewer public dollars to support our community colleges, which are an extraordinary public resource,” said Foothill-De Anza Community Colleges Foundation Executive Director Marie Fox Ellison. “That’s why the Foothill Commission has made it a priority to ensure the success of Foothill College, and we applaud their visionary efforts to provide opportunities for our students to achieve and succeed.”
The mission of the Foothill Commission, Fox said, is to promote the college within the community and engage in projects, activities and fundraising directly in support of Foothill College and its students.
The commission awarded $5,000 to Foothill’s Pass the Torch program, which helps at-risk students earn grades that allow them to advance to the next level of instruction. Pass the Torch links students who excel in English, English as a second language and math with students who want support in those same core classes.
Foothill College student Mirella Huitron, who participates in the program, said, “Pass the Torch has opened doors to college that I thought would never be open for me, and I want to thank the Foothill Commission for funding this important program.”
“The program provided me with the one-to-one attention I needed to succeed in my math class, which is a subject that I have difficulty understanding,” said Foothill student Adrian Diaz. “I have experienced the positive effects that Pass the Torch provides, and I thank the commission for allowing us to continue offering this service to Foothill students.”
Additional Foothill Commission allocation recipients and the amounts awarded include:
• Autodesk Design Institute ($8,500). Funding will be used by Foothill’s Computers, Technology and Information Systems Division to develop courses to attract students who are interested in computer-assisted drafting (CAD) applications.
• Dallas Black Dance Foothill Outreach ($5,000). Funding will be used to give 2,000 local middle-school students an inspiring and often introductory live cultural performance experience. The 2006 allocation will support a first-time matinee performance enabling outreach to older adults in the community.
• Honors Institute ($4,000). Funding will be used to award individual scholarships to students who complete six designated honors courses.
• Intercollegiate Speech and Debate Team ($1,500). Funding supports the college’s award-winning team with required expenses that enable them to compete in the Bay Area and beyond.
• Tutorial Center ($5,000). Funding will be used to pay student tutors and allow the on-campus center to offer more services to needy students.
• Writers Conference ($5,000). Funding will be used to sponsor the annual Foothill Writers Conference next summer.
For more information about the commission’s 2007 fundraiser, call 949-6230 or visit www.foundation.fhda.edu.
