WHERE TO GIVE

WOMEN'S EDUCATIONAL SUCCESS (WES)

• President’s Circle
• Scholarships
• Cabrillo Advancement Program (CAP)
• Women's Educational Success
• Heritage Club
• Naming Opportunities
• Annual Fund
• Faculty and Staff Grant Awards

Save the Date!

WES 2012 Luncheon

Friday, September 21, 2012

11:30 am - 1:30 pm
Please send us an email with your address if you would like an invitation to this event. Click here to contact the WES Coordinator!

As Kim Ellis contemplates a career in urban planning, she remembers how hard it was at times to make ends meet when she was just starting out on a new career path at Cabrillo College as a single mother of two children. A $150 emergency grant from Women’s Educational Success helped carry her through a difficult financial patch so she could stay in school full-time and not postpone plans to transfer to a university.

“It was kind of like the glue that put things together,” says Kim, 41, who transferred last year to UC Santa Cruz. The WES grant gave her an emotional boost as well as a financial one. “It makes you feel like you’re living in a better world. It will be paid forward.”

Peggy Downes Baskin and Rachael Spencer launched WES in 1997 with 100 members, each contributing $100 to establish an endowment. The fund provides emergency cash grants of $100-$750 to help cover unexpected expenses such as text books, a class uniform, or bus pass. Since its inception, 974 grants totaling $193,642 have been disbursed.

This year, Kelly and Maria Nesheim are providing matching funds for donations to the WES program of $250 or more up to $7,500. They wanted to make sure students like Kim have the support they need to succeed.

The WES Committee, lovingly known as Best Friends, has made the program the success that it is today. Barbara Canfield, who with Linda Downing, co-chaired the 2011 campaign says that "it has been an honor to be a part of this program and part of the WES legacy of leadership. We are glad that we have been able to carry on the passion of the founders of the WES program to increase philanthropy in women and in doing so, empower women to make a difference."

I am proud to report that this year WES will allocate $32,000 to women in need this year, Linda Downing says. “It helps us assist  more women in need with grants to achieve their educational goals.”

For more information about WES, please contact Kate Staveland at 831-479-6597 or via email :  Kate Staveland.