Guest column by John Horner: Edward Boss Prado Foundation begins scholarship program at Gavilan with $30K

By John Horner

The Edward Boss Prado Foundation works with relentless passion to empower people who are in need with resources that foster dignity and respect.

The foundation is built to honor its namesake Edward’s values of generosity, sensitivity, and of being good neighbors and we do so with a 100 percent volunteer staff. Although the foundation is best known for providing clothing, food and school supplies to those in need, it also has a significant college scholarship program. Unlike most scholarship programs, the foundation’s program is targeted specifically to students who are pursuing career-based educational programs which can best enable them to improve their economic circumstances in a relatively short period of time.

Some of these students may well go on to further educational achievements, but our focus is on getting them through the first big educational step into better paying, more rewarding careers.

Up until recently the foundation managed its scholarships directly by interviewing applicants, making grants and then funding and staying in touch with the grant winners throughout their educational journey. While providing scholarship support and encouragement to get started in school is important, following through with ongoing funding and mentoring gives the student a far higher likelihood of success. Recently we have re-focused our scholarship program on a partnership with Gavilan College, starting with an initial funding of $30,000 for the coming school year.

Foundation and Gavilan leaders met to ensure that this partnership would be able to continue fulfilling the foundation’s goals while helping Gavilan College further encourage completion of its strong and growing portfolio of career-focused educational programs. Some of those career education offerings at Gavilan include highly successful HVAC, aircraft maintenance, water management, phlebotomy, cosmetology, information technology programs and more.

Organizations of many types keep telling us that they need workers with a good work ethic and skills beyond a basic high school education, and that they are willing to pay them much higher than minimum wage if the employees can do what needs doing.

Meanwhile we have many individuals struggling to make do on the low wages which they currently qualify for. Education and training are the essential elements to close the skills gap and provide higher incomes and the workers needed for businesses to expand.

The Edward Boss Prado Foundation believes it can help fill that gap by providing support and encouragement to the individuals who will make it happen. We are proud to partner with Gavilan College in its 100th year of meeting just these needs.

John Horner is a board member for the Edward Boss Prado Foundation. He wrote this for Gilroy Life on behalf of the foundation.