Manual Avina, Cal-SOAP alumnus
Cal-SOAP staff (l-r): Erin Gemar, Rachelle Cariglio, Eric Martin, Vanessa Hernandez,
Robert Trout, Dia Hoshida, Mekala Sheedy
This past school year, that funding was
redirected.
“We’re down to half of what we started
with the College Futures Foundation,”
Gemar said.
Once again the dedication of the
Cal-SOAP staff came through. The staff
organized AlumNight 2016, a fundraiser
held last June. The dinner’s successful
turnout raised $17,000, providing at least
one senior in eight of the high schools
served by Cal-SOAP a scholarship. A
total of 14 scholarships were awarded.
“Our goal this year was to give out 10
scholarships, so we exceeded our goal,”
Gemar said.
“People were coming up to me saying
they had no idea that Cal-SOAP provided
so many services, or made such an
impact on students,” Rachelle Cariglio,
Cal-SOAP bookkeeper, said about
reactions from the fundraising event.
The greatest impact came when
alumni students delivered testimonials
explaining the impact Cal-SOAP had on
their lives.
“The alumni students that were
speaking weren’t just talking about the
scholarship that they received, that was
a part of it, but they were talking about
their counselor, about what they went
through in their life, and how Cal-SOAP
helped them,” Cariglio said.
The next AlumNight dinner will be
held on Friday, June 16 th, 2017, and
will highlight a major component of
the organization’s five-year plan, which
includes a $100,000 scholarship program.
“If you don’t have parents who know
how to read the applications, process
the applications, no matter how badly
they want you to go, you might not get
there. So we’re here specifically for those
students,” Gemar said, emphatically
adding, “but we’re here for everyone.”
The first step for all students is
understanding just what Cal-SOAP can
mean to them. Simply put, Cal-SOAP
equals knowledge, and knowledge
equals success.
“Every kid is going to connect to
something, or somebody, so why not
college. There is nothing you can’t do
in college,” Gemar said.
South County Cal-SOAP serves the
Morgan Hill, Gilroy, and Aromas-San
Juan Unified School Districts and the
San Benito High School District.
Info at: southcountycalsoap.org.
Cal-SOAp volunteers
and attendees at
AlumNight 2016
fundraiser at
Solis Winery
GILROY • MORGAN HILL • SAN MARTIN
SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2016
gmhtoday.com
89