A Message from the Executive Director - Summer-Fall 2023
August 17, 2023Warm Wishes (literally!) from the Berkeley College Foundation!
I hope you are enjoying these waning days of summer. The more relaxed pace of this season gives the Berkeley College Foundation (BCF) pause to reflect on the highlights from earlier this year and provides the impetus to focus on what’s ahead.
The BCF welcomed three new board members at the onset of 2023: Edison Jaquez, Jonathan Santiago, and Michael Lamendola. To quote BCF chair John Phillips, “Each brings a high level of unique skill sets, passion, and enthusiasm and we look forward to seeing the impact they will have on our mission.”
The BCF’s 6th Annual Golf Outing held on June 5, 2023, was a huge success! Not only was the weather beautiful, we also dodged the Canadian wildfires bullet by about 48 hours…talk about good timing! A record number of golfers attended, and there was strong sponsorship participation. Golfers and sponsors are the nucleus of our golf outing, and we are so grateful for their support. Kudos to the Berkeley College staff volunteers who ensured the event ran smoothly. A special shout out to BCF board member Melvin Montalvo, AKA “Golf Chair Extraordinaire” for putting his usual hard work, dedication, and passion into this outing.
It’s been nearly a year since the Berkeley College Woodland Park campus food pantry opened on September 14, 2023. As of the recent conclusion of the spring 2023 semester, the pantry has received 404 student visits and distributed an additional 179 Grab & Go, Emergency, and Thanksgiving food bags.
On November 8th, 2023, the BCF will host its fall ’23 Scholarship Recipients Awards reception at the Woodland Park campus. The fall ’23 semester recipients will be joined by the newly formed winter ‘23 semester cohort. The additional five scholarship recipients the BCF added this year would not have been possible without the financial support of our donors. This awards ceremony really puts into focus how special the mission of the BCF is.
Save the date! Our 3rd annual Berkeley College Networking and Food Drive will be held Thursday evening, November 9th at Uncorked Wine & Lounge in Totowa, NJ. Stay tuned for more information.
If you’re on LinkedIn, be sure to follow us at: https://www.linkedin.com/company/berkeley-college-foundation/
As always, please reach out to me with any thoughts and comments to Ellen-Zitis@BerkeleyCollegeFoundation.org. Thank you for visiting!
Sincerely,
Ellen