Students Rising Above
Previously, The Julia Burke Foundation provided a grant to help pay for Mentors that work with the students and help them adjust to the academic and social challenges associated with college. For many of the students, their Mentor is the only adult who will call them during four years of college. The Foundation also provided computers to help the students meet the demanding technological needs of university life.
Nearly 100 percent of the selected students are the first in their families to go to college; over 75 percent live below the federal poverty level, and more than half are growing up without parents. SRA’s comprehensive program support results in a graduation success rate of 80 percent—well above the national level. To learn more about SRA, visit www.studentsrisingabove.org. To view student stories and updates, go to www.cbs5.com/students. |
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The Julia Burke Memorial
Scholarship Fund |
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The 2008 grant provided by The Julia Burke Foundation will help fund Advisor salaries, a Summer Internship Coordinator, computers for student workshops, student internships, a medical and dental coordinator for students, an overnight retreat for a new class of 35 students, advisor development, access to a UCSF Adolescent Advisor, and expenses related to student outreach and the new class selection process.
Students Rising Above provides low-income Bay Area high School students with the mentoring support, financial assistance, and employment skills they need to achieve their dream of a college education. Started in 1998 by news anchor Wendy Tokuda, the program began as a series of news stories featuring students who were rising above odds of poverty, homelessness, abandonment, and neglect. This Peabody and National Emmy award-winning news program grew into a 501(c)3 nonprofit sending 180 students to colleges across the country including UC Berkeley, Harvard, Stanford, Yale, and more. Pictured above are KPIX 5 Anchorwoman Wendy Tokuda and Sherrice Perry, a Brown University graduate and Students Rising Above Scholar who is currently in law school.