When we started our Scholarship Mountain View program 10 years ago, we were hoping to help deserving students from hard-working local families, bridge the gap and be a bit more comfortable in their first year at college. Back in 2009, we gave away $3,000 and it was split between two students.

We’re proud to tell you that our scholarship program has grown a great deal in the last decade. Our annual scholarship awards dinner was at LinkedIn a few weeks ago and we awarded a total of $70,000 to 15 students. The event was a beautiful celebration of student achievement and community success.

We’ve learned from our Chamber members that the local business community is interested in giving back and that they care deeply about helping local students reach their goals of attending college, whether that means a 2-year community college, a 4-year university, a trade school or an online college.

Photo Credit: Picture 2000

Programs like Scholarship Mountain View help make possible what may have seemed impossible. We’ve heard stories from local families that are almost unbelievable, stories about escaping violent homelands, abusive situations, and hunger in order to make it to Mountain View and get their children enrolled in some of the best schools in the country. The recipients of our scholarships are about to change the world; they know they’ve come to the land of opportunity and they’re ready to stake their claim.

One of our scholarship recipients in 2018, Bryan Mendoza, graciously spoke at the awards dinner and told us how the extra money changed his situation. He was able to pay for textbooks, and commute by Cal-Train to and from San Jose State because of the scholarship. He said that he didn’t have to overwork himself and he was able to focus on classes, instead of getting more hours at his job. The scholarship gave him the “confidence to push forward” and achieve his goals.

We’re fortunate to be in an area where multiple organizations are all working together to support local students in need. Our foundation, Mountain View Chamber of Commerce Foundation created Scholarship Mountain View. We are part of the MVLA Community Roundtable, which was formed by the Los Altos Community Foundation. The current Roundtable also includes: Rotary Club of Los Altos, Rotary Club of Mountain View, Kiwanis Club of Mountain View, MVLA Scholars, and Quota International Club. Any of those 6 organizations are a fabulous way to donate to local scholarships.

By reviewing scholarship applications collectively, we ensure that as many students as possible can benefit from the funds our community has gathered.

In the last 10 years, the business community, has donated (via the Mountain View Chamber of Commerce Foundation) a total of $297,000 to scholarships for local students. We’re incredibly grateful to you, our Chamber members, for making that possible!

Chamber membership is about community, and communities have a lot of moving parts.

Thank you for your donations towards 2019 Scholarship Mountain View. To make a donation towards the 2020 scholarships, please go here: http://bit.ly/smv_2020

Educate them like your future depends on it. Because it does.

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