By Khalida Sarwari
Most people would agree that everyone deserves a second chance, especially the youth.
For every overachieving student, there’s another student, who for one reason or another, starts off on the wrong foot before landing on the right one. Those are the students that the South Bay chapter of the Kiwanis Club is supporting with its Turnaround Scholarship fund.
All 16 San Jose area clubs, including Los Gatos and Campbell, held a benefit dinner at Villa Ragusa in Campbell on March 15 to raise money for the scholarship fund, attended by hundreds of people, including Assemblyman Jim Beall and Campbell Mayor Mike Kotowski. Michael Rubino, chairman of the Turnaround Scholarship Committee, estimated that nearly $50,000 was raised that evening.
“This helps students who are more in need of scholarships,” said Rubino.
The fund is available to any student who has faced and overcome some kind of adversity in their life, whether it be related to drugs and alcohol or issues such as homelessness or abuse. The students are chosen by a counselor at their school who recommends them to the Kiwanis clubs on the basis that they’ve shown an improvement in their grades from their freshman to senior years.
“We choose from their recommendations the amount of students we can give the scholarships to,” Rubino said.
Students who are selected receive $1,000 for every year they are in an institution of higher learning, whether it is a university, community college or vocational school, as long as they maintain a passing grade point average. The scholarship money is sent to their school of choice directly.
Roughly 50 students are chosen every year, depending on how much money the Kiwanis clubs raise. At last year’s benefit event, the clubs raised around $60,000, which was matched by the Leo M. Shortino Family Foundation.
The Kiwanis Turnaround Scholarship program is now in its 17th year.
This year’s scholarship awards ceremony will be held on the afternoon of May 4 at San Jose’s Three Flames Restaurant, 1547 Meridian Ave. The event is open to the public, but reservations are required.
For more information about the award ceremony or the scholarship fund, or if you’d like to make a donation, contact Michael Rubino at michaelrubino@sbcglobal.net.
Local Kiwanis Clubs gather to raise funds for turnaround scholarships
