10,000 Volunteer Hours from Canoga Park to Compton: Twelve Students Receive Community Service Scholarships

Business Wire, June 5, 2003

News Editors/Health/Medical Writers/Education Writers

LOS ANGELES--(BUSINESS WIRE)--June 5, 2003

Twelve high school and college students from throughout L.A. County, who donated a combined total of 10,000 volunteer hours over the last two years, received community service scholarships today from the Kaiser Permanente Watts Counseling and Learning Center.

The Bill Coggins Community Leadership Scholarship Awards were presented at the annual 2003 Pursuit of Excellence Awards Dinner. The dinner, which was also organized by the Baldwin Park Educational Outreach Program, honors young graduates from local schools (elementary through college) who have achieved academic success in spite of many obstacles, thanks to the help of exceptional volunteers, tutors and mentors like these.

Each of the five $2,000 scholarship recipients has an inspiring story to tell. Candace Fields, from Compton, has been accepted to Xavier College, and contributed her volunteer efforts to St. Francis Medical Center in Lynwood. Kathy Le, from El Monte, is a student at U.C. Riverside, and has tutored children in El Monte, helped decorate Rose Parade floats and has been a hospital volunteer in Baldwin Park. Erica Quezada, from South El Monte, attends CSULA and provides individual mentoring and tutoring for children at Menlo Avenue Elementary School in South Los Angeles. Eric Teasley, from Inglewood, has been accepted to Stanford University, and is the Co-Founder of "A Walk in Your Shoes, Inc." Laura Torres, from Los Angeles, has provided volunteer assistance at Inner-City Struggle, Hollenbeck Middle School and at Queens Care. Torres' goal is to become an inner-city high school teacher and motivate others to continue the cycle of success. She has been accepted to Grinnell College.

Alberto Gonzalez from Pico Rivera received the $1,000 scholarship for helping to organize the "Walk Against Domestic Violence," an event to benefit battered women and children in Southeast Los Angeles. He also volunteered at St. Hilary's Church, and coordinated activities at Leo's Club to help beautify Pico Rivera through Community Pride Day. Gonzalez has been accepted to U.C. Berkeley.

The six $500 winners are: Jazelle Burries (Compton); Laura Cuellar (Los Angeles); Ji Lee (San Pedro); Jessica Ou (San Marino); Shodhan Sivani (Canoga Park); and Sylvia Cibrowski (Los Angeles). When asked why she volunteers, Cibrowski said, "I can't save the world, but I can definitely make an impact on the communities in which I work and volunteer."

The award recipients were selected from among 110 high school and college students who have demonstrated commitment to community service as measured by their personal statements, letters of recommendation and the "quality" of their service.

The Center established the annual award in 1997 to encourage community service among students and to help them further their academic goals. It was named in honor of Bill Coggins, the founding director of the Watts Counseling and Learning Center. In 1996, the American Association of Health Plans presented the first AAHP national Community Leadership Award to the Center for its many years of service to the Watts community. The Center used the accompanying cash award to fund the scholarship program.

For nearly 35 years, the Center has offered free or low-cost counseling, educational therapy, summer camps, preschool and after-school child care for families living in the Watts area. The families need not be members of Kaiser Permanente to take advantage of the Center's services.

Kaiser Permanente is a non-profit, prepaid, group practice health maintenance organization (HMO), founded in 1945. The Kaiser Permanente Southern California Region has more than 3.1 million members. It includes 3,600 physicians in the Southern California Permanente Medical Group (SCPMG) and 46,000 Kaiser Foundation Health Plan and Hospitals and medical group employees. The Region is served by 11 major medical centers.

http://www.kaiserpermanente.org

Editors: JPEG Photos available. For interviews, contact Socorro Serrano, 626/405-5534.