The Community Foundation for Monterey County manages over 50 scholarship funds, with a total value of more than $8 million. Over the last four years, their scholarship giving grew from $375,000 to over $1.4 million, for the benefit of about …
Bright Spots 2020: College Readiness Programs
All four Monterey Bay public colleges and universities (CSU Monterey Bay, UC Santa Cruz, Hartnell College, and Monterey Peninsula College) offer college readiness programs that reach into local high schools to support low-income and first-generation students to prepare for college, …
Bright Spots 2020: Volunteer Education and College Assistance Alliance (VECAA)
Every year, the United Way of Monterey County manages the Volunteer Income Tax Assistance, or “VITA,” program which provides free tax preparation services to thousands of low-income families throughout the county. Every year at Hartnell College, hundreds of students who …
Bright Spots 2020: Dual Enrollment
Dual enrollment is a partnership between a community college and high school that allows students to take college courses on their high school campus while earning both college and high school credits. Thanks to new state legislation, both Hartnell College …
Bright Spots 2020: Center for Community Advocacy
The Center for Community Advocacy’s (CCA) was founded in 1989, our mission is to provide education, orientation, and legal support to farmworkers and other low-income working families who want to establish neighborhood committees that work to improve housing and health …
Bright Spots 2020: Valley Health Associates
Valley Health Associates (VHA) is a nonprofit provider of treatment for substance abuse disorder. VHA specializes in Medication Assisted Treatment and offers outpatient drug treatment for adults and youth. VHA recently launched its Youth Outpatient Treatment Program, the first in …
Bright Spots 2020: Ohana
Supported by an unprecedented $105 million gift from Bertie Bialek Elliott, the Community Hospital of the Monterey Peninsula will establish Ohana to create an innovative approach to child and adolescent mental and behavioral health that will serve as a national …
Bright Spots 2020: Community Alliance for Safety and Peace
The Community Alliance for Safety and Peace (or CASP) is a coalition focused on reducing youth violence and its impact on the City of Salinas. CASP brings together leaders from youth service organizations, county housing and health departments, local and …
Bright Spots 2020: Bruce W. Woolpert Algebra Academy
The Bruce W. Woolpert Algebra Academy began in 2010 when the late president of Graniterock Bruce Woolpert and Kevin Jeffery joined with CSUMB professor Hongde Hu to expand eighth graders’ knowledge and love of math. Eighth-grade math, and especially algebra, …
Bright Spots 2020: Roosevelt Elementary School’s Culture of Kindness
In 2014, Salinas City Elementary School District made a commitment to establish systems that promote a positive school climate. To achieve this goal, they are using several strategies, including: Restorative Justice, the Olweus Anti-Bullying Program, Positive Behavioral Interventions & Supports, …