Other funds have been made available to students directly through existing academic programs. For instance, the Valley-Bound Commitment Program students will receive some emergency financial relief after the San Manuel Band of Mission Indians allowed the Foundation to repurpose more than $60,000 of grant funds to provide emergency financial aid to Valley-Bound students enrolled this semester. Additionally, the Wells Fargo Foundation kindly repurposed a $25,000 grant to buy Chromebooks that were loaned out to Valley-Bound Program students who needed access to a computer. The funds also included the purchase hotspots for Valley-Bound Program students to borrow.

The San Bernardino Valley College Foundation is now accepting nominations for new Board Directors. Nominations will be accepted now through March 8, 2021.

San Bernardino Valley College will be celebrating its 95^th Anniversary with a gala, which is tentatively scheduled for January, 2022.

We are in the planning stages now and will be releasing more information on the event in our upcoming quarterly newsletters. There will be plenty of sponsorship opportunities available to support the gala.

Proceeds from the event will be used to fund student scholarships.

Graduating in a pandemic is not typically what students sign up to do. As Spring 2020 graduate of San Bernardino Valley College, Miriam Padilla shows how with familia (family), dedication, and guidance a scholar can persist even through a pandemic. She was awarded an Associate’s degree in Liberal Arts with a concentration of Humanities and Fine Arts.

In high school, Miriam was not certain if she would attend college. Her biggest motivator in deciding to attend was the encouragement she received from her uncle. He advised her that college was a way to provide a better future for herself and her family.

One of Miriam’s biggest fears was not being able to afford college. In her last year of high school, she learned about the Valley-Bound Program. The Valley-Bound Program supports students who are low-income. It is designed to remove economic barriers for these high school graduates by covering enrollment fees and textbooks for the first year of attendance. In addition, students participate in a learning community, which helps to strengthen students' academic achievements.

Miriam applied and was accepted to the Valley-Bound Program. She especially benefitted from the workshops that were offered to help her identify her future goals, take care of her health and wellbeing, and learn how to navigate financial aid. She shared, “There were times I wanted to change my major or wasn’t quite sure what I wanted to do, but the Valley-Bound counselors guided me in what route to take.”

Miriam’s advice to others is to: “Take advantage of your opportunities. It’s a step to success!”