Sandpipers Awards Over $300,000 College Scholarships
On Monday, June 15, Sandpipers awarded 13 South Bay area high school seniors with scholarships that will assist them financially over their next four years of college. These 13 students join 42 other South Bay high school graduates already receiving aid from Sandpipers’ Scholarship program for the 2020-2021 school year. The funds for these scholarships come from Sandpipers’ fundraising efforts, Sandpipers’ South Bay Community Fund, and individual donors.
“Sandpipers is thrilled to provide 55 deserving young men and women over $300,000 towards their college education next year,” stated Natalie Radtke, President of Sandpipers. “Our organization has provided financial assistance to college-bound students since 1941, and has the oldest continuing aid program in the South Bay.”
Sandpipers will celebrate the new scholars by hosting two Drive-By Celebrations on Thursday, June 18, at 7 pm at Lawndale High School and on Saturday, June 20, at Redondo Union High School. In addition, the Scholarship Committee has assembled a bountiful college care package to distribute to each student during the celebrations.
“Sandpipers regrets that we can’t host our traditional dinner and presentation ceremony at this time,” said Camille Soriano, Scholarship Co-Chair. “The Drive-By Celebrations are a creative alternative for our volunteers to give the students the recognition they deserve.”
The 13 new Sandpipers’ Scholarship recipients are:
• Leila Adatto – Redondo Union High School attending UC Davis
• Jorge Arroyo – Leuzinger High School attending UCLA
• Gabriela Cornejo Arreola – Leuzinger High School attending UC Berkeley
• Thanh “Derek” Nguyen – Leuzinger High School attending UC Davis
• Jessica Tang – Torrance High School attending UCLA
• Juan Contreras – Leuzinger High School attending University of Southern California
• Anyelin Lima Juarez – Lawndale High School attending UCLA
• Yarizmar Garcia – Lawndale HS attending UC Berkeley
• Serena Rupani – West Torrance High School attending UC Irvine
• Kimmia Saunders-Butler – Junipero Serra High School attending the Georgia Tech
• Adelle Shaw – Da Vinci High School attending UCLA
• Jennifer Szarvath – Hawthorne High School attending UCLA
• Gerson Navidad-Salvador – Hawthorne High School attending UC Berkeley
To be considered for a Sandpipers’ Scholarship, applicants must have a minimum unweighted GPA of 3.0, demonstrate financial need, have actively participated in community service and other volunteer activities, reside in or attend a high school located in the South Bay area of Los Angeles, be a U.S. Citizen or eligible non-citizen as defined by the U.S. Department of Education, and attend a four-year college. Sandpipers will make applications available for the 2021 Scholarship awards in January of 2021. Email scholarship@sandpipers.org for more information.
About Sandpipers
Sandpipers is a 100% volunteer organization dedicated to serving the needs of the South Bay community of Los Angeles through charitable and philanthropic programs since 1931 with 100% of our proceeds going to those in need in the community. The following is an overview of our organization and the recipients of our fundraising efforts. With more than 800 volunteer members, Sandpipers has raised and distributed more than $2.2 million dollars in the past five years. In 2019-2020, Sandpipers contributed an estimated $450,000 and thousands of community service hours to individuals and local non-profits. These funds have been disbursed to those most in need in the South Bay Community of Los Angeles through Sandpipers’ various programs which include, but are not limited to: Emergency Casework, Back-to-School Shopping Program, Holiday Baskets, College Scholarships, and Community Grants. For more information about our philanthropic programs please visit our website, sandpipers.org.
