News | ScholarMatch

The new and improved ScholarMatch.org

by selina | March 30, 2012

This April marks the second year of ScholarMatch, and we couldn’t think of a better way to celebrate than by improving our website! Most of the changes are behind the scenes, so we can’t show them off. But, rest assured that we’ve made extensive improvements to the process of matching donors with scholars.

However, we do have a few new visible features we’re excited to tell you about. We’ve built pages so you can learn more about who are students are and our services and impact. Now, by searching for terms such as “high school senior” or “college sophomore,” you’re able to see students in a specific class. Finally – and most importantly – we improved our donation gateway so everything is much cleaner and easier to understand. We hope you like the changes – be sure to take a look around and let us know what you think!

Need personal statement help? We’re expertly trained

by kent | November 3, 2011

Risa Nye, an experienced personal statement reader for the University of California system, recently trained ScholarMatch interns and staff to help students with personal statements. She offered insight on the do’s and don’ts of college essays. If you are a student or if you know a student who would like to learn what’s on those lists, here’s what we can do for you.

ScholarMatch is offering extended drop-in hours for students who need help on their college personal statements from Tuesday, November 8th, until Thursday, December 15th. Our doors will stay open on Tuesdays and Thursdays until 6:30PM. All students have to do is e-mail us or call us at 415-652-2766.

All our services are free! To offer these much-needed workshops, we need your help. If you can, make a donation of any size to support ScholarMatch’s scholarships and personalized college-success programs.

It's personal statement season! Help a student get into college

by kent | October 31, 2011

Remember personal statements for college? They were those essays that could make or break your admission. Writing these statements is a pressure-filled experience that can be a struggle for many college-bound students. Luckily, if you’re in the Bay Area, you can help students through it!

ScholarMatch’s personal statement drop-in hours run from November 8 to December 15, and are held on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 3PM to 6:30PM (if you have alternate availability, let us know). We’ll be helping local students to craft their essays. We will provide you with tips if you don’t feel like an expert, but even so: Don’t worry! Having personal, one-on-one feedback really gives students the sense that someone is rooting for them.

Our 826 network is also getting in to the spirit. Chapters from Los Angeles to Seattle to Boston hold Personal Statement Weekends: intensive, two-day workshops of college essay writing. 826 Valencia in San Francisco held theirs the weekend of Oct. 29 and Oct. 30. If you were involved in as a volunteer and would like to continue that work with Bay Area students, sign up for our personal statement hours today! Email generalquestions@scholarmatch.org with your availability and dates.

Pre-order the new Voice of Witness book to support ScholarMatch

by kent | October 7, 2011

Our friends at Voice of Witness, the nonprofit division of McSweeney’s, have a new book available for: Inside This Place, Not of It: Narratives from Women’s Prisons. Like all VoW books, it’s packed with gripping stories that are sure to move you and make you think. And for each pre-order placed, co-editor and best-selling author Ayelet Waldman will donate $10 to the students of ScholarMatch!

Huge thanks to Ayelet, everyone at Voice of Witness, and McSweeney’s for their support!

Meet our fall 2011 scholars!

by kent | September 23, 2011

Another summer has gone by, and our students have headed off to campus. We are thrilled to announced that, thanks to the generosity of people like you, these 38 talented students received ScholarMatch scholarships the 2011-2012 school year!

Congratulations to the students, and thank you to everyone who supported them! If you’re as moved by them as we are, sign up to be a donor and help support them today.

Alejandra A – Attending UC Merced, class of 2014
Amber A – Attending Holy Names University, class of 2015
Ana C – Attending San Francisco State University, class of 2015
Armando I – Attending Manhattanville College, class of 2014
Ashley C – Attending Berkeley City College, class of 2015
Carmen C – Attending San Francisco State University, class of 2015
Carlos T – Attending San Jose State University, class of 2015
Cecilia A – Attending UC Davis, class of 2014
Cesar S – Attending UC Berkeley, class of 2015
Chan C – Attending UC Berkeley, class of 2014
Courtney L – Attending UCLA, class of 2015
Cristian M – Attending San Francisco State Univeristy, class of 2015
Daniel G – Attending UC Merced, class of 2015
Danielle E – Attending Cal Poly Pomona, class of 2015
Dawn M – Attending UCLA, class of 2015
Eliezer G – Attending San Francisco State University, class of 2015
Erica M – Attending Dillard University, class of 2014
Gina C – Attending Cornell University, class of 2014
Grace C – Attending UC Davis, class of 2014
Jarrell S – Attending City College of San Francisco and Skyline College, class of 2015
Jenny F – Attending Dominican University, class of 2014
Jessica C – Attending Fordham University, class of 2015
Jewelea R – Attending Cal Poly San Luis Obispo, class of 2015
Kasiemobi U – Attending Stanford University, class of 2015
Kristine N – Attending City College of San Francisco, class of 2015
Liliana C – Attending City College of San Francisco, class of 2014
Lina C – Attending Ventura College, class of 2014
Marlene V – Attending CSU East Bay, class of 2015
Mauricio P – Attending San Francisco State University, class of 2014
Pedro P – Attending Sonoma State University, class of 2012
Solongo B – Attending UC Davis, class of 2014
Sofia G – Attending Santa Clara University, class of 2014
Trallonie M – Attending Spelman, class of 2014
Ravon A – Attending Grambling State University, class of 2014
Rongchang L – Attending UC Berkeley, class of 2015
Veronica A – Attending UC Santa Cruz, class of 2015
Yessika L – Attending Chabot College, class of 2015
Zulyema S – Attending City College of San Francisco, class of 2014

Without question, Trivia Night was a success!

by kent | August 24, 2011

We are thrilled to announce that our Definitely-Not-Trivial Trivia Night raised a lot of money to support college-bound students! 96 people packed San Francisco’s Trés restaurant on August 23 for a rousing night of trivia and tacos, all with the aim of helping us provide gap scholarships for ScholarMatch students.

The competition straddled the line between fun and ferocious, as contestants worked out whether it’s more expensive to surf the web or download e-mails on a smartphone (surfing) and who composed the theme music for the TV show Monty Python’s Flying Circus (Sousa). Special guests comedian Aisha Tyler and Adam Savage of Mythbusters spoke about the importance of education and why they were moved to support ScholarMatch. Guests met four of our fantastic students – Pedro Perez, Bianca Catalan, Rongchang Lei and Virginia Urzua – who entertained the crowd with their stories of dorm life and shared their challenges of raising money to go to school.

More students like them are heading to campus, some for the first time, some for the last, and they need your support today.

Thanks to all the generous supporters who attended (and who introduced to new friends!) and to our celebrity guests. Special shout-outs to our sponsors and friends who contributed: Brainstormer Pub Quiz, Rickshaw Bagworks, Maverick Capital, McSweeney’s, Alegio Chocolate, Albona Ristorante, Jennifer Jamieson Photography, and the Molina family. And, of course, thanks to Trés for hosting.

Erica McMath is ready for Dillard!

by kent | August 15, 2011

ScholarMatch is excited to announce Erica McMath, a former 826 Valencia scholarship winner, as our latest student to reach her scholarship goal through the generous donors in our community. Now Erica can fly back to New Orleans to begin her sophomore year at Dillard University with the knowledge that an entire community is supporting her.

Upon finding out the news of her funding, Erica told us, "I thank you for giving me the tools needed for my sophomore year. With people like you [helping me], I have no choice but to successfully graduate with a Bachelors of Arts in Psychology."

Prior to starting college, Erica lived in some rough neighborhoods in San Francisco. Erica turned to writing and performing to get her through difficult times. Aside from placing first in the Youth Speaks Poetry Slam competition, Erica was featured as San Francisco Bay Guardian‘s "Best of the Bay Local Hero" and on HBO’s documentary Brave New Voices; amazing accomplishments for someone so young.

We wish Erica the best of luck with her sophomore year and thank all the donors who are helping to make her dreams a reality!

Erica is just one of many incredible students for whom money is the biggest obstacle to college. Meet more impressive scholars here, and donate today!

Pedro Perez is graduating from college!

by kent | August 12, 2011

Pedro Perez, a ScholarMatch rock star of the first degree, will be able to graduate from Sonoma State University this year! When Pedro came by the office and heard the news, he told us, "I don’t know how to thank you. This is going to change my life — graduating instead of not graduating."

Pedro, a graduate of Mission High School, intends to use his degree in criminology and criminal justice to defend people who often lack the resources to defend themselves. This future lawyer is also an active member of the 826 community: He volunteers at 826 Valencia and participates in ScholarMatch events, including the recent interview with Peter Finch from KFOG.

The ScholarMatch team is so proud of Pedro for what he’s already accomplished, and we look forward to what he’ll achieve in the future.

There are so many more students who, like Pedro, have the drive to succeed but can’t afford college. Meet them here, and donate today!

Support our students at the Ultimate ScholarMatch Trivia Night

by kent | July 28, 2011

Join us from 7-9 PM on Tuesday, August 23, at Tres Agaves Restaurant in San Francisco to test your wits against dozens of other competitors in a fun and challenging event hosted by Brainstormers.

Just what kind of event are we hosting? Well, what will challenge your brain, treat you to delicious eats, and support college-bound high-school students in your community? If you answered "The Ultimate ScholarMatch Trivia Night," you’d be right – and you’d be a superstar at this event!

Your emcee will be comedian and actress Aisha Tyler, and the celebrity trivia master will be Adam Savage from Mythbusters. Also in attendance will be ScholarMatch staff and students, Dave Eggers, and surprise guests. You’ll be vying for fabulous prizes, which we dare not yet name (but one may turn out to be a very mythtifying experience).

Tickets are $200 for a seat, or $1,500 for a table of eight, with each table making up one team. The best part? All the funds we raise will go toward supporting our talented, hardworking, and super-smart students.

For more information on the event and how to purchase tickets, visit our event page.

Wanted: ScholarMatch interns for fall 2011

by kent | July 28, 2011

If you have a passion for education, helping those in your community, and know the college process relatively well, do we have the opportunity for you! ScholarMatch is looking for enthusiastic and talented interns to join our team for this upcoming fall 2011.

As a ScholarMatch intern, you will volunteer at least 20 hours per week to assist with the day-to-day operations of a unique educational non-profit in the following areas: fundraising, student outreach, administrative, writing and editing, or design/web/tech projects.

We require potential applicants to have excellent oral and written communication skills, experience working with high school students, and a true interest in education and non-profit work. ScholarMatch is located in San Francisco’s Mission District right across the street from our 826 Valencia family.

Please send us a resume and a few sentences on who you are and why you would be a great fit to: generalquestions@scholarmatch.org. We look forward to speaking with you!