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In this issue, we look at how being at college has changed the life of one of our scholarship winners.
Ed Fund West

Giving Thanks for Education

November 2013 Newsletter



Community Calendar

Adopt a Family 2013

November-December 2013
Brighter Beginnings' Adopt a Family program pairs donors with Brighter Beginnings client families. On the Adopt a Family site, you can "adopt" a family this holiday season to give the gift of requested supplies.

NIAD Art Center: Deck the Walls

November 15th to December 23rd
NIAD Art Center, 551 23rd Street, Richmond

NIAD’s annual holiday show has a twist this year: every featured piece is only $35. Also seen will be a Sweet Dreams, a selection of work from NIAD’s Maria Radilla, and the return of the Holiday Lounge.

Richmond Art Center Holiday Arts Festival

Sunday, December 8, 2013
11:00 AM to 6:00 PM
Richmond Art Center, 2540 Barrett Avenue, Richmond

A festive event with fun things to see and do for the entire family!  Learn more details here.

RYSE Center Five-Year Anniversary Event

Saturday, December 14, 2013
12:00 PM to 4:00 PM

RYSE Center, 205 41st Street, Richmond
Join the RYSE Center for food, music, arts and crafts, tree decorating and more! Also, the Center will be giving away up to 500 toys to children 12 and under.

Sharing the Spirit

Saturday, December 14, 2013
11 AM to 5:30 PM
East Bay Center for the Performing Arts, 339 11th Street, Richmond

The East Bay Center for the Performing Arts presents a seasonal Winter showcase of the Center's performing arts group classes. The day will feature the Center's youngest performers as well as experienced students.

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Dear Dear Community Partner,

Our scholarship winners recognize the value of an education. Many of them are the first in the family to attend college, and all of them come from low-income backgrounds. They view their college education as a path to creating opportunities for themselves and their families. The Ed Fund is proud to support 87 of these young men and women through their first year of college.

Will Newsome, a 2013 Ed Fund scholarship winner, is currently enrolled at Holy Names University in Oakland and plans to graduate in the spring of 2017. Since he was eight years old, Will had his sights set on college. While he was extremely happy to graduate from high school, he saw it as a means to an end. In his words, he sees his "real life" beginning when he graduates in four years. He views college as an opportunity to develop academically, socially and emotionally.

While Holy Names University may be in the nearby Oakland hills, it is still worlds away from Richmond for Will. Living on his own for the first time, Will recognizes that he is responsible for his own successes and failures. He chooses his own courses, he chooses to do homework and he chooses to stay engaged in the classroom. At the same time, Will recognizes that college is not all about studying and that there is a social aspect to college life. He is adjusting well to his new surroundings, which are very different from his hometown.

Will is "loving college" and believes it "truly is the greatest experience a student could have in life." He is extremely grateful to the donors who committed to investing in his success, and is thankful for all the support he has received over the years to reach this point in his life.

In this holiday season, please consider making a donation to support the Ed Fund's scholarship program. Your support allows 90 students like Will to receive scholarships in 2014 so they may achieve their dreams of attaining a college education.

Sincerely,


Joel Mackey
Executive Director


Program Spotlight: Grants

We are pleased to announce that the Ed Fund will be awarding over $30,000 in grants! The projects funded by our grants program will improve academic, social and emotional outcomes for West Contra Costa County youth. We would like to thank all the applicants for formulating projects which will indubitably improve the quality of education in West Contra Costa County.

Winners will be announced at the West Contra Costa Unified School District board of trustees meeting on Wednesday, November 27th. Details are as follows:

WCCUSD Board of Trustees meeting
Wednesday, November 27, 2013
6:00 PM
DeJean Middle School, 3400 Macdonald Avenue, Richmond

We hope you will join us in celebrating our winners! Thank you for supporting the students of West Contra Costa County.

This year, the Ed Fund will profile one grant winner a quarter to demonstrate the impact your donation has on the children of West Contra Costa County. Grant winners are implementing projects in all subject areas, and we look forward to sharing with you the impact your support has had in our classrooms.



Volunteer with the Ed Fund!

The Ed Fund is looking for volunteers to help during winter break! Volunteers will have the opportunity to work with every department at the Ed Fund, including program, development and finance. This is a great opportunity for college students looking for nonprofit work experience during the holidays. Currently, Ed Fund interns are working on projects like contacting Ed Fund scholarship winners, writing proposals to local corporations and analyzing data to share with the community.

If you are interested and can volunteer for 5-10 hours a week, contact the Ed Fund staff:

Zuhair Saadat
Development Associate
zuhair@edfundwest.org

Thank you! We are grateful to all of our volunteers for making it possible for us to achieve our mission.



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