The Las Positas College Foundation was established in 2003 and has two main goals, according to the LPCF website. First, to inform and educate the residents of the Tri-Valley area about LPC. Second, to give said residents the opportunity to invest in LPC’s future. The Foundation does this by gathering together investments from beneficiaries in and around the Tri-Valley area.
“We like to think that we’re the base the college goes on,” Ted Kaye, Chief Executive Officer of the LPCF, said.
The investments that the Foundation typically receives are from various individuals throughout the Tri-Valley area. The most common investors of the Foundation are alumni from LPC. Although the LPCF does not typically host fundraising events, an exception is made for the Best of the Best gala.
LPC hosted the Best of the Best gala on April 27 and for a limited time, ticket prices were discounted from $125 to $95 as part of an early investor incentive. Two auctions were held and when combined, the total amount that the auctions had generated was $22,000 for the Foundation. The LPC Night Hawks Jazz Combo, the LPC Forensics team presented a dramatic interpretation of literature and the drama students’ scenes from LPC’s spring musical, Hair, were performed.
“Is it ready for Prime Time? No. Is it going to be on Glee? No–but it’s really good,” Kaye said.
The Foundation provides funds to programs such as Rotarians Advancing Veterans Education (RAVE), and educational programs, like the Talk Hawks. RAVE is lead by both the Livermore Rotary Club and the LPC Foundation. The program’s main goal is to assist veterans as they transition out of the military and into college life.
The Talk Hawks have competed on both the national and international stages thanks to the LPC Foundation. The Talk Hawks recently competed on the international stage at the International Forensic Tournament in Antwerp, Belgium.
“It’s not just a forensics competition, it’s a cultural experience for the students,” James Dobson, an instructor for the Talk Hawks, said.
The Bernard Osher Foundation, in conjunction with the LPC Foundation, awards perpetual scholarships to students who prove their academic worth. Perpetual scholarships accrue over time and benefit the recipient continuously. The Foundation offers two $500 scholarships, which are awarded to students within the campus community.
To combat the expense of books, the LPCF operates a textbook loaner program, called the Textbook Challenge. The Textbook Challenge is managed by the Associated Students of LPC. The LPCF also operates the Foundation 55 Program, a program that raises money to fund a class that had previously been dropped by budget cuts.
With all of the local support that the LPCF musters, some would say that the LPC Foundation is something to be built upon.
