On June 4, Bridge Builders Foundation of Los Angeles held their 40th Annual Salute & Scholarship Awards Luncheon at the Doubletree by Hilton, Torrance South Bay, where they awarded over $100,000 in scholarships to African American male high school seniors (over $1 million since inception).
The annual event is part of the Bridge Builders Foundation’s Start-2-Finish Scholarship Program, which provides African American youth with a $2,500 financial scholarship for their first year in college, and a supplemental commitment of an additional $1,000 for the next three years for a total of $5,500. At any time, there are approximately 75 students in the funding pipeline.
More than 300 guests attended to witness and support a cohort of 25 young men. In addition to awarding scholarships, a portion of the luncheon was dedicated to honoring individuals within the community that are making a huge impact on society.
This year’s honorees included Dr. Thomas A. Parham, president of California State University at Dominguez Hills; and business owners and philanthropist couple, Michael Washington, an entrepreneur and co-founder of Palazzo Concessions; and Stasia Washington, senior vice president and senior marketing director of First Foundation Advisors.
The Bridge Builders Foundation has been selected as a community partner with the California Community Foundation’s Los Angeles Scholars Investment Fund (LASIF). This partnership will fund the Bridge Builders Foundation for $250,000 over the next two years, allowing the Bridge Builders Foundation to expand their annual scholars program cohort, and allocate additional funds in financial scholarships.
Bridge Builders Foundation currently awards over $100,000 annually to a cohort of approximately 20 African American males each year (over $1 million since inception). This grant will now allow BBF to award an additional 15 scholarships and increase their annual scholarship awards to over $150,000.
In addition, Bridge Builders Foundation will expand their pre-scholarship education platform to engage students earlier as juniors and add support in essay composition, SAT preparation, and finding scholarships and educational resources.
“The Bridge Builders Foundation is extremely grateful for our partnership with California Community Foundation. It will allow us to further extend our reach within the African American community to help support youth in their pursuit of higher education,” said William Rochester, Jr, senior program director of Bridge Builders Foundation.
For more information, visit bridgebuildersla.org.
