Courtesy photo.
SANTA MARIA — The Rotary Foundation and the Rotary Clubs of California are being honored by the Network of California Community College Foundations (NCCCF) with the organization’s prestigious Bernard Osher Philanthropist of the Year Award. According to the NCCCF, the organizations have provided $6.2 million in philanthropic support to benefit California community colleges across the state in recent years.
The honor includes the efforts of local Rotary clubs who support students at Allan Hancock College, thanks to hundreds of thousands of dollars of donations to the college’s nonprofit foundation as well as directly to students through scholarships.
“It’s great to see Rotary clubs recognized for their support of community colleges like Hancock,” said Jon Hooten, executive director of Hancock’s college advancement department and the AHC Foundation. “Our local clubs recognize the outsized impact that Hancock has in the community, and it’s only fitting that my colleagues across the state have joined together to honor Rotarians and their commitment to local education.”
According to the college, a total of 10 area Rotary clubs donated a total of $332,000 to Allan Hancock College over the last 25 years. The generous contributions are used to sponsor college events, fund student scholarships and support the college’s Promise Program, which was recently expanded to provide two years of college tuition and fee-free enrollment for local high school graduates.
Local Rotary Clubs that have donated to the AHC Foundation include Lompoc, Nipomo, Los Olivos, Pismo Beach/Five Cities, Santa Ynez Valley, Solvang, Vandenberg Village and the Santa Maria South, Breakfast and Noontime Rotary Clubs.