Cabrillo Economic Development Corporation is pleased to announce it has received a $10,000 Edison International grant to help fund the 2019 Rodney Fernandez Leadership Fund STEM Scholarship Program.

The Rodney Fernandez Leadership Fund STEM Scholarship Program, created in 2011, honors the legacy of Rodney Fernandez, Cabrillo’s founder and Executive Director for 30 years (1981–2011). The Scholarship continues Fernandez’s legacy of community building by cultivating the leadership of residents to attain their goals, empower themselves and to take action and improve the quality of life in their communities.

The scholarship program provides funds for students who wish to pursue education and careers in Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM). To be eligible, students must be enrolled in and/or continuing college education, in the process of applying to an accredited institution, or enrolled in an undergraduate or graduate program, and household income must be less than or equal to 80 percent of the Area Median Income (AMI) for Ventura County. High school applicants must have a minimum GPA of 3.0 to apply.

Margarita H. de Escontrias, Cabrillo’s CEO, said this grant will allow Cabrillo to provide STEM scholarships for underrepresented groups and lift financial barriers for those with aspirations for careers in the fields of science, technology, engineering and math.

“Funding from Edison International enables Cabrillo to provide scholarships to motivated and talented students, many from immigrant families who are first-generation college students. These grants will help youths in our community to reach their educational and leadership potential. They will help diversify our workforce in these fields and benefit our community,” she said.

In 2018, Cabrillo awarded a total of $12,500 to 13 recipients and received a total of 21 applications for the Rodney Fernandez Leadership Scholarships.

“Each year, members of our scholarship review panel are deeply moved and touched by the applications and appreciate the applicants’ willingness to share their experiences and struggles as well as their triumphs,” said de Escontrias.

In addition to high quality, safe and secure affordable housing, Cabrillo creates a ladder of opportunity for its low-income residents through comprehensive housing services and educational programs, which include the Rodney Fernandez STEM Scholarship program.

Cabrillo will schedule applicant information sessions in the spring. Dates for these sessions, applications, and additional details will be available on the Cabrillo website cabrilloedc.org in April. Please contact the Resident and Community Services Department [email protected] with any questions.

About the Cabrillo Economic Development Corporation: Cabrillo Economic Development Corporation’s mission is to provide comprehensive housing services and community economic development activities through a community-building approach that facilitates self-sufficiency for individuals and families who are most lacking in opportunity in Ventura and Santa Barbara counties. Incorporated in 1981, Cabrillo’s early roots were in response to a farmworker community’s demand for secure housing. Although this continues to be important, today there is a more widespread need for affordable housing in this region. As such, Cabrillo now provides housing and resident services for low- to moderate-income residents and families, including farmworkers, seniors, veterans and individuals with special needs.

As severe winter storms continue to traverse the country, and cold and flu season is in full swing, the one-two punch is hitting blood centers hard and drastically impacting community blood supplies. Severe weather can also lead to more accidents and an increased need for blood.

Currently, there’s a critical need for platelets and type O blood donations; however, all blood types are needed. In emergency situations, when a patient’s blood type isn’t known, doctors reach for type O blood first until the patient can be stabilized. Platelets have a very short shelf life—only 5 days. In Ventura and on the Central Coast, Vitalant needs to collect 1,225 donations per week to replenish the supply and meet the needs of area patients.

Vitalant strives to maintain a 4-day supply of type O blood; currently we’re at less than half that amount for our nationwide supply. Additionally, blood donations collected in late December and early January were down 47 percent compared to the first two weeks of December making it challenging to maintain an adequate blood supply.

Donors are strongly encouraged to give blood in the coming days to immediately rebuild the community blood supply. To schedule an appointment to give blood, go to vitalant.org or call 1-805-543-4290. Walk-in donors are always welcome.

“We typically see a drop in donations around this time of year because people are not only recovering from the holidays, many are also suffering from the flu and other illnesses,” said Susan Noone, Regional Director. “Add bad weather to the mix and it makes it extremely difficult to maintain an adequate blood supply for patients who need it.”

Volunteer blood donors must be at least 16 years old, weigh at least 110 pounds and be in general good health. Additional height/weight requirements apply to donors 22 and younger, and donors who are 16 and 17 must have signed permission from a parent or guardian.

Vitalant (“Vye-TAL-ent”) is the nation’s second largest community blood service provider, supplying comprehensive transfusion medicine services for nearly 1,000 hospitals and health care partners for patients in need across 40 states. Vitalant inspires local communities to serve the needs of others and transform lives through the selfless act of donating blood. Every day, almost 5,000 blood donations are needed to meet the needs of people throughout the country, and Vitalant’s 780,000 donors supply 1.8 million donations a year. In addition to blood products, Vitalant offers customers transfusion services, medical consulting, quality guidance, ongoing education, research and more. For more information and to schedule a donation, visit vitalant.org or call 877-258-4825 (877-25VITAL).

Angela Moyd takes a vision and makes it a reality through sound strategy development. She intuitively sees the threads of opportunity that wind through an organization, brings them together into a coherent who and helps others extend their thinking.

She is an inspirational leader, motivational speaker, and entrepreneur who shares stories taken from her 30+ years of experience in non-profit administration that inspires action while at the same time is grounded in financial information that levers the business.

Respected as a credible voice in decision making, finding strategic financing partners, and establishing governance boundaries. Angela earns a seat at the table wherever she serves.

The City Center Transitional Living
837 E. Thompson Blvd.
Ventura 805- 628-9035