The Scholarship Foundation of Santa Barbara honored hundreds of area students at two consecutive awards ceremonies in the North County and South County this week.
This year the Scholarship Foundation will award college and vocational scholarships totaling more than $7.1 million to 1,784 students throughout the county.
The Santa Barbara Foundation contributed more than $900,000 in scholarship funds this year, and is one of the Scholarship Foundation’s largest partners.
Some 550 people attended the foundation’s South County Scholarship Awards Ceremony on May 21 at the Courthouse Sunken Garden in Santa Barbara, while about 650 people attended its North County Scholarship Awards Ceremony May 22 at Allan Hancock College.
The annual events recognize new and returning Scholarship Foundation recipients. Attendees at each ceremony included students, parents, educators, and community leaders.
Scholarship Foundation Board Chair Danna McGrew was a featured speaker at both events, along with foundation trustees Ernesto Paredes on May 21 and Phil Alvarado on May 22.
Melinda Cabrera, Scholarship Foundation president/CEO, who also spoke at both ceremonies, said, “It was truly inspiring to meet the students who are benefiting from our assistance. Congratulations to this year’s scholarship recipients and their families.”
The nonprofit Scholarship Foundation of Santa Barbara is the nation’s largest community-based provider of college scholarships, having cumulatively awarded in excess of $150 million to some 62,000 county students since its founding in 1962.
The foundation also provides free financial aid advising services. For information, visit www.sbscholarship.org.