Palo Alto Family YMCA Cooper Scholarship Program To Award 10 Local Students $2,500 Scholarships

Online, July 31, 2010 (Newswire.com) - PALO ALTO, CA - The Palo Alto Family YMCA announced today 10 local students will be awarded $2,500 scholarships at the fourth annual YMCA Cooper Scholarship Dinner Awards Saturday, August 7, located on Ross Road in Palo Alto. Each recipient comes from a diverse background and has achieved great success in both their pursuit for an education, as well as in their personal lives. In addition to the 10 new awards to be handed out, 30 students who received the award in previous years will have their scholarships renewed again at the dinner.

The Palo Alto Family YMCA provides comprehensive college preparation at our Ventura Teen Center. This includes focused tutoring in collaboration with Dreamcatchers, a college planning center, tours of colleges and, in its fourth year, the Cooper Scholarship. Together, these comprise some of the most prominent Palo Alto Family YMCA programs, making a direct impact within the community. Motivated, local students are recognized through this initiative by their demonstrated integrity and perseverance in overcoming adversity, strength of character, financial need and the commitment to pursue a college education. The scholarships can be used as financial assistance and post-high school education at any college they choose. The 2010 recipients are students who attend high schools in the Palo Alto area, including Palo Alto High, Menlo Atherton High, Gunn High, Woodside High, Sequoia High and Eastside Prep.

"We feel fortunate for the ability to continue this scholarship program, and we are thrilled to increase the dollar amount from $1,250 to $2,500 this year," said Scott Glissmeyer, Executive Director of the Palo Alto Family YMCA. "We are grateful to the program's founders, Wilson and Sue Cooper, as well as the support of community members, who we credit for the ability to assist these exceptional students in their pursuit of a higher education."

The 10 students who will be recognized as new Cooper Scholarship award recipients for 2010 during the awards dinner are: Jose Manuel Chavez, Priya Ghose, Sharon Godinez, Yesenia Guizar-Orozco, Andrea Huerta, Jacob Huerta, Lia Salaverry, William Torres, Eliana Corona-Vasquez and Teklehaymanot Yilma.

The founders of the scholarship program, Sue and Wilson Cooper, are Palo Alto residents whose passion for working with underserved youth has provided this rewarding platform.

Passionate about education, the couple believes helping these hardworking students is one of the greatest gifts they can give.
For more information on the Cooper Scholarship program, please contact Scott Glissmeyer, at [email protected] or 650-323-0110. For all media inquiries, please contact Tina Casalino at [email protected] or 650-842-2792. Additional info on each scholarship recipient is available to the media upon request.