Optimist Club Shows it Kares With Donation

The Canyon Country Optimist Club has made a donation to help children with cancer. The $3,000 donation to the Michael Hoefflin Foundation of Santa Clarita will provide for the compiling of 50 Kare Kits, packs the charity gives to families that have a child with cancer. The packs include practical supplies needed for a hospital stay including a toothbrush, a blanket, sandals, a notebook and grocery, gas and phone cards. Gillian Stone, executive director of the Michael Hoefflin Foundation, said that when a child is taken to a hospital that deals with cancer, the family of the child is often whisked away without any time to prepare. “We need something to comfort these people. It’s something tangible that shows them there is someone who can relate,” she said. Stone said the charity gives out about 300 kits each year. Michael Holt, president of the Optimist Club, said helping charities that support families dealing with childhood cancer is a major campaign for his group. “It’s an extremely worthy project. To build these bags for families is very important,” he said. The Michael Hoefflin Foundation was founded in 1994 after a young boy of that name died of recurrent brain cancer. High-Tech Education The Woodland Hills office of aerospace giant Northrop Grumman Corp. awarded two San Fernando Valley high school students $10,000 scholarships for college. The Falls Church, Va. company, as part of a national campaign, wants to support students seeking careers in engineering, computer science, physics or math. The two winners were Joshua Lam of Westlake High School and Averell Wallach of North Hollywood High School. To be eligible, the students must be a graduating seniors with a minimum SAT score of 1,700 or ACT score of 27 and a minimum 3.5 grade point average. Once qualified, students completed an online application, wrote a 500-word essay about their career goals and provided an official school transcript and three letters of recommendation. The students will receive $2,500 each year during their college education. Nationwide, the competition had 300 applicants this year for a total of 40 academic-based scholarships. Joyce Chang, a spokesperson for the Woodland Hills headquarters of the navigation systems division of Northrop Grumman, said it’s important to help motivate students interested in technical professions to ensure a quality work force. “High-technology companies, including Northrop Grumman, continue to face a shortage of specialized engineering personnel needed for our business,” she said in an email. Entertainment Scholarships Warner Bros. has handed out six Reach Program Scholarships to graduating high school students in Los Angeles County. As part of the program, the Burbank studio gave each student a $10,000 college scholarship that includes the opportunity for four summer internships at Warner Bros. Mary-Elizabeth Michaels, director of community affairs, said the Reach Program offers the studio a chance to help support students interested in the business of entertainment. “This program is really a way for us to reach out in the community and have it not be a one time thing,” she said. “We really get to know these kids and help them as much as they can to get a foot in the industry.” Michaels said Warner Bros. received more than 130 applications for the program. Two of the recipients were from the Valley: Alexi Fiumani, who graduated from Burbank High School, and Karl Ravancho, a recent graduate of Providence High School. Air School The North Valley Occupational Center Aviation Center, which trains students in aviation mechanics, has received a $25,000 donation. The University of North Dakota Aerospace Foundation presented the donation last month to create a scholarship fund for low-income students. The school, which has operated at the Van Nuys Airport for 40 years, had been struggling in recent months as the Los Angeles Unified School District has had severe budget cuts. But in February, the school received a $100,000 private donation that helped stave off potential closure. And its landlord, Los Angeles World Airports, agreed to a $1-a-year lease. The center has about 100 students each semester and offers a two-year program that can place graduates in jobs with aircraft maintenance firms, commercial carriers and aerospace manufacturers. Staff Reporter Elliot Golan can be reached at [email protected] or (818) 316-3123.