Online workshops to help with the application process are offered at VC.

The Ventura College Foundation is now accepting scholarship applications for the 2024-25 school year. The deadline for application submissions is January 21, 2024.

Students currently enrolled at Ventura College in the 2023-2024 academic year and who have completed at least six units by the end of the Fall 2023 semester, are eligible to apply. Units earned in previous semesters at Ventura College count towards the unit requirement.

“Beginning last year, we reduced the scholarship eligibility requirement from twelve to six units to make the application process more inclusive for part-time students,” says Anne Paul King, Ventura College Foundation executive director. “With work and family commitments, it’s often difficult to attend full-time.”

Over 400 scholarships totaling more than $600,000 will be awarded, many for specific majors including environmental science, computer sciences, health care, nursing, business and education. Phoenix scholarships are exclusively for re-entering students, including active military and veterans, who have taken time off and are now returning to college to continue their education. By completing one application, students are eligible for multiple scholarships. Scholarship amounts range from an average of $2,400 for continuing students to an average of $3,500 for students transferring to four-year universities next Fall. At a minimum, scholarship recipients are awarded a $1,000 scholarship.

Online workshops to help with the application process are offered from October through January before the application deadline. Scholarship recipients will be announced in April 2024.

The foundation’s scholarships are the result of annual contributions and established scholarship endowments from Ventura College Foundation board of directors, donors, and corporate partners. “Their generous contributions and transformative investments in support of Ventura College student success have enabled the foundation to award scholarship funds to tens of thousands of students over the foundation’s 40-year history,” says King.

For more about Ventura College Foundation scholarships, workshop dates and other financial assistance, go to https://venturacollegefoundation.org/scholarships or contact Micsin Martinez, foundation programs and development specialist, at [email protected], 805-289-6161.

Established in 1983, the Ventura College Foundation transforms students’ lives through education by providing innovative and vital resources and financial support. The Foundation collaborates with Ventura College to enhance human potential, civic engagement, careers, and academic success of students enabling their effective impact and legacy on the college, local workforce, and our community. The foundation also hosts the Ventura College Foundation Marketplace; an outdoor shopping experience held every weekend on the Ventura College campus. For more information, contact Julie Harvey at (805) 289-6502 or [email protected] or visit www.VenturaCollegeFoundation.org.

Food Share, Ventura County’s largest hunger-relief organization, is bringing its most popular community event back for the holidays! The 12th Annual CAN-tree food drive will take place in Figueroa Plaza from Thursday, November 30 when the trees will be built, through Sunday, December 3, 2022, when they will be dismantled.

The event, which brings thousands of individuals, families, and local businesses together to collect and build hundreds of canned food “trees” is Food Share’s biggest food and fund drive of the year and is a critical source of food for the thousands of people still struggling with food insecurity in Ventura County.

There are lots of ways to get involved. Participants can Collect & Build, Buy & Build, Raise & Build or Sponsor a Tree. There’s also a chance to win one of 10 coveted awards including the CAN Crusher, the Top CAN Crusher, and the People’s Choice, which will be featured on Food Share’s website, social media pages and in its newsletter.

For more information visit: https://foodshare.com/can-tree-2023/ or reach out to Jess Hug, at [email protected].

Ventura firefighters wore pink themed t-shirts.

The Ventura Fire Department is proud to partner with the Ventura City Firefighters Association and various local Ventura businesses for the 13th consecutive year to champion Breast Cancer Awareness Month. This October, Ventura firefighters are uniting in support of this cause by selling limited-edition pink, embossed department t-shirts.

Ventura firefighters wore pink themed t-shirts from October 1-15, to raise awareness about the importance of early detection and treatment in the battle against breast cancer.

“We stand as champions for breast cancer awareness and prevention, and we raise funds to ensure that breast cancer patients and their loved ones receive the lifesaving care and support they deserve,” said Fire Chief David Endaya. “With over $16,000 already contributed, our resolve to sustain this mission burns brighter than ever.”

All funds raised from t-shirt sales will be directed towards the Ribbons of Life Breast Cancer Foundation, a remarkable local non-profit and grassroots organization dedicated to empowering women and families affected by breast cancer. They achieve this through education, advocacy, and providing essential emotional and social support.

Residents can purchase (if still available) the pink-lettered shirts or donate to the Ribbons of Life Breast Cancer Foundation at the following participating local businesses:

• MadeWest Brewing Company, 1744 Donlon Street
• Snapper Jack’s Taco Shack, 533 E, Main Street
• Ventura Visitors Center, 100 S. California Street
• Very Ventura Gift Shop and Gallery, 540 E. Main Street

T-shirts will not be available for sale at any Ventura Fire stations.

To learn more about the Ribbons of Life Breast Cancer Foundation and their impactful work, please visit RibbonsVentura.org.

Several members of the city council were there. Photos by Patricia Schallert

The volunteers chose between 17 different projects. At the bike hub were volunteers learning how to fix bikes for kids, at the river cleanup (owned by the Ventura Land Trust) volunteers were cleaning up the river bottom.

Love Ventura stated “By partnering and collaborating with existing groups, organizations and individuals, we believe that our community can have a broader reach and impact in our neighborhoods, schools, and businesses.”

“We believe that every person should have a chance to serve the community. Our serve day on October 7th had projects that all can participate in – from your little ones to our senior community,  those able-bodied and those needing something lighter and not physically demanding. To inspire our community to love each other through connecting, participating, giving, and serving.”

Our city comes together every October for a day of service. Love VC, Inc. is a 501(c)3 non-profit with the sole focus of inspiring our community to love each other through connecting, giving and serving.

TheTeam is made up of 100% volunteers working to make our community a more vibrant and unified place to live, work and play.

Ventura College Foundation Applied Science Group.

Tickets are on sale for Ventura College Foundation’s 40th Anniversary Gala, Friday, October 20 from 5:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. at the Museum of Ventura County (100 East Main Street, Ventura). The gala will celebrate the successes of Ventura College students and the decades of board leadership and dedicated donors.

The VC Foundation began in 1983 to help remove the financial barriers that often prohibit students from reaching their education goals. According to Ventura College data, 52 percent of the college’s current 10,000-student population is classified as extremely low-income or low-income.

“Without the foundation’s help, many VC students would struggle as they try to keep up with their studies while facing severe economic challenges,” says Anne Paul King, executive director of the Ventura College Foundation.  Many students need assistance with food and housing and have to work multiple jobs.

Since its inception, the Foundation has raised over $48 million for Ventura College and its students for the Ventura College Promise, scholarships, textbook lending, and campus programs like Basic Needs, Career Education, Athletics, and more.

“The Foundation’s board leadership and its donors’ generosity have impacted tens of thousands of students over the years,” says King. “The foundation’s VC Promise program, where full-time, first-time, first year and second year students can attend school tuition-free, was groundbreaking when established in 2007. It became the model for the statewide California College Promise program in 2017.

Gala sponsorship opportunities are available for individuals, corporations and foundations.

Go to https://venturacollegefoundation.org/40th-anniversary/ to purchase gala tickets or sign up to become an event sponsor.

Established in 1983, the Ventura College Foundation is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization and operates financially independent from Ventura College. It transforms students’ lives through education by providing innovative and vital resources and financial support. The Foundation collaborates with Ventura College to enhance human potential, civic engagement, careers and academic success of students enabling their effective impact and legacy on the college, local workforce, and our community. The Foundation also hosts the Ventura College Foundation Marketplace; an outdoor shopping experience held every weekend on the Ventura College campus in the East Lot. For more information, contact Julie Harvey at (805) 289-6502 or [email protected] or visit www.VenturaCollegeFoundation.org.

“That’s a heavy key!”

President and CEO Marlyss Auster accepted the Key to the City from Mayor Joe Schroeder for Visit Ventura’s leadership in bringing the X Games to Ventura

Visit Ventura was honored to receive the Key to the City for Visit Ventura’s tremendous efforts in bringing the X Games to Ventura. This is just the second time Mayor Schroeder has bestowed a Key to the City as Mayor of Ventura.

“Visit Ventura did so much for the City, not just for this year but for the next decade,” said Mayor Schroeder after presenting the Key to the City. “Everything went better than we ever hoped… Visit Ventura showed everybody what can happen when you preplan and you communicate with others.”

The finals weekend hosted in Ventura saw a number of record-breaking moments. Tickets were completely sold out for Day 2 of the competition — the first time in X Games’ history. X Games California 2023 witnessed the competition’s first Chumash blessing in which three Chumash tribe members performed the welcoming in front of athletes and media. Official X Games merchandise was sold out for the first time ever as well. 16 hours of X Games broadcasted content on ESPN, ABC, and ESPN2 averaged 459 thousand total viewers, up nine percent versus X Games 2022 and a 10 percent increase versus X Games Minneapolis 2019 (the last event with fans in attendance).

Visit Ventura led city-wide and county-wide partnerships to ensure a successful event. A partnership with Amtrak Pacific Surfliner, Metrolink, Ventura County Transportation Commission, Bike Ventura, and Revolution Surf and Skate resulted in an X Games Transportation Plan unlike the City has ever seen before. A city-wide call out to local businesses inspired creative X Games-themed cocktail drinks, special release beer, and food, demonstrating the innovation and passion of Ventura’s small businesses to support a large-scale event.

“That’s a heavy key!” said Marlyss Auster, President and CEO of Visit Ventura, with a laugh after receiving the key on behalf of Visit Ventura. “This was truly a team effort. It was amazing to have all of our stakeholders and partners at the table collaborating to make this event the success that it was. It just goes to show what we can do together r and the whole world witnessed what Ventura is all about and what we’re made of.”