A Message from the Executive Director - Summer-Fall 2022

Salutations from the Berkeley College Foundation!

Greetings and hope you are having a happy and healthy summer. This balmy, slower-paced season provides an ideal opportunity to enjoy quality time with family and friends, get in some well-deserved “R&R,” and re-charge the batteries. The Berkeley College Foundation is taking this brief reprieve to reflect on accomplishments during the first half of this year, while focusing on achieving new ones for the next half.

Reflecting back, our most significant fundraising accomplishment was the 5th Annual Golf Outing held on June 8, 2022. It proved to be a fun and engaging gathering which raised money for a great cause. Kudos to all the sponsors, golfers, volunteers, and BCF members who contributed to making this a highly successful and memorable event. A special shout out to BCF board member Melvin Montalvo (dubbed the “Golf Chair Extraordinaire”) for all his time, hard work, and dedication to ensure its success. Mother Nature also deserves a mention as she gifted us with wonderful weather. Learn more about it by visiting our “Events” page and clicking the first link listed under “Past Events.” Be sure to also check out the photo album link below it, which gives a great visual flavor of the outing.

Looking forward, the BCF has very exciting news to share: in September, Berkeley College will launch the opening of its third food pantry at the Woodland Park campus. Food insecurity for college students, referred to as the “invisible epidemic,” continues to be a plague on both a regional and national level. We are grateful to have the ability to address this crisis and serve the Berkeley Community by providing these basic necessities so our students can concentrate on their academic and career goals.

In November, the BCF will host its ’22 Scholarship Recipients Awards reception. Both the high school and adult students selected for the scholarships will attend with family members to receive the accolades. It is a moving celebration of the academic and service-based attainment of these financially need-based students. Learning of the challenges they faced, obstacles they overcame, and accomplishments they made—both in and out of the school setting—is truly inspirational.

As always, any ideas, thoughts, and suggestions for the BCF are welcome and please feel free to send your comments to Ellen-Zitis@BerkeleyCollegeFoundation.org. Thank you for your time and support of our mission!

Sincerely,

Ellen Zitis