CORAL GABLES, FL (May 7, 2024) – The Coral Gables Community Foundation has again escalated its support for college scholarships in 2024, with awards worth nearly $1.5 million The growth is attributed to generous, engaged and visionary fund holders joining the Foundation to award more scholarships than ever.
Sixty Five high-school senior students — from eight area high schools — were awarded 73 scholarships totaling $1,421,000 from 18 scholarship funds: the Coral Gables Community Foundation Scholarship; Coral Gables Culinary Arts Scholarship; the Dr. Thomas E. Deal Medical Scholarship; the Garcia Perseverance Scholarship; Coral Gables Bar Association Scholarship in Memory of Ervin Gonzalez; the 1980 Cavaliers Boys Soccer State Championship Scholarship in memory of Team Captain Bruce Hayes; the (new) High Achievement/Low Income Scholarship; Kerdyk Family Trust Music Scholarship; Ralph V. Moore Scholarship for Cavalier Excellence; Julian Perez Memorial Scholarship; the Dave Ragan Jr. Memorial Golf Scholarship; Rotary Foundation of Coral Gables Scholarship; Shine Bright Scholarship; Jeannett Slesnick Community Spirit Scholarship; Luke Sturgill Memorial Scholarship; the Lady Suzanna P. Tweed Scholarship; the Mitchell Zuñiga Scholarship; and the Walter & Alma Vogel Memorial Scholarship.
Dignitaries, Foundation Board Members, donors and the scholarship recipients and their families celebrated at the annual Scholarship Reception hosted jointly with the City of Coral Gables at The Robert and Judi Prokop Alumni Center at the University of Miami.
This year’s scholarship growth was propelled in 2024 by extraordinary gifts from a handful of anonymous donors. They were impressed with the caliber of students at Gables High. In personal interviews with applicants, these donors were compelled to make matching gifts of $40,000 each to 25 top students already receiving the Community Foundation’s hallmark four-year scholarship award.
Generous support from donors has created annual awards within the Coral Gables Community Foundation Scholarship awards. The Batchelor Foundation has supported the Scholarship Program for
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several years, and the Kirk Foundation supported the awards again this year. This year the Community Foundation also received anonymous funds from three donors new to the Scholarship Program.
“It’s a privilege to guide our investments and those of our donor funds, to be able to support such academic excellence. The Coral Gables Community Foundation honors students who have excelled academically and shown outstanding service to their community,” said Michael Walsh, chair of the Foundation’s Board and a wealth manager and principal at Evensky and Katz/Foldes Wealth Management.
“The generosity of our fund holders and donors has allowed us to reach over $2.5 million in scholarship awards since 2005 when the Community Foundation first supported students” said Matthew Meehan, Scholarship Committee chair, Community Foundation board member and philanthropist. Mr. Meehan concluded the ceremony with a challenge to the students to give back to the community that has supported them and to use their education and skills to make a difference by paying it forward to the next generation.
2024 SCHOLARSHIP AWARDEES
Melody Abbassi; Penelope Acevedo; Lia Alongi; William G. Altamirano; Alicia A. Amador; Moon Jayne Anderson; Micheily Arduengo; Mohammad H. Aziz; Johnny R. Barahona; Ignace I. Barrenechea; Hamyail Bokhari; Yanquiel Bosques; Alexander M. Brazda; Brandon Bueno; Ashley M. Cabrera; Robert Capetillo; Cleider J. Cartaya; Carolina Castro; Ailyn Chaviano; Timothee Paul Chiquillo; Emmanuelle Zoe Desmet; Naissa Esperance; Sofia K. Felan; Ludvig Fellstrom; Stefano G. Fernandini; Tania M. Fuentes Cana; Osmany Garcia-Merlo; Amalia Garrido; Theodore Alijah Gibson; Santiago Giraldo; Valentina Gutierrez; Jamar J Howard; Roosevelt Jean-Mary Jr.; Emily M. Kardjian; Bailey S. Knight; Ebonie J. Knight; Audrey M. Lezcano; Isabella Lozada Flechas; Sara Ursula Matos Tamargo; Gabriela A. McGrath Moreira; Madison L. Mendoza; Katelyn Mesa; Isabella Montagner; Sebastian Montoya; Alessandro E. Moran; Natalie Muniz; Denisse Oliva; Samuel A. Orellana; Gael Perez; Camila Perez-Clavarino; Ylitanie Prosper; Sara V. Rafael; Georgia M. Rau; Olivia S. Rebull; Daphne Renoux; Laura Ridoux; Alexandra N. Roa; Anabella C. Rodriguez; Lorena Rodriguez; Dominick Rodriguez-Alvarez; Joshua Ruiz; Steffi Sarmiento Mena; Juan Bellizzio; Yeili G. Useche; Ava E. Volman.
ABOUT THE SCHOLARSHIP PROGRAM
The Coral Gables Community Foundation is honored to partner with fundholders to administer several scholarship funds in the community as well as manage the Foundation’s own scholarship funds. The Foundation and its fundholders have proudly awarded over $1 million in scholarships in just the past few years.
ABOUT CORAL GABLES COMMUNITY FOUNDATION
Established in 1991, the Coral Gables Community Foundation inspires impactful philanthropy through charitable funds and programs using local knowledge, expertise and trusted relationships. More at www.GablesFoundation.org.
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For more information or for media resources and interviews, please contact Marketing and Program Manager Robertson Adams, via [email protected] or 305-446-9670. .
Links
● Scholarship Programs https://gablesfoundation.org/programs/scholarships/
● CG Community Foundation on Instagram: instagram.com/CoralGablesCF
● CG Community Foundation on Facebook: facebook.com/CoralGablesCommunityFoundation