Event to raise money for Paramount Pride Scholarship fund
The second annual Paramount Pride Scholarship Golf Tournament is scheduled for Friday, July 19, at the Los Amigos Golf Course. Registration starts at 11:30 a.m. The Firemen’s ball drop will take place at 12:30 p.m., Tee off time is 1 p.m.
“People can sign up the day of at the event but for a deadline I would say to make it easier for myself the day before the event,” said Tony Velasquez, founder of the scholarship. (Yes, the “day before” is today, Thursday, July 18.)
The golf tournament is a fundraiser—the biggest fundraiser—for the Paramount Pride Scholarship fund, which is just a year older than the golf tournament. Founder Velasquez said there were 83 participants last year. As of late June, registration was close to that number.
The scholarship fund itself is for current “Pirates”—that is, the students at Paramount High School.
“All proceeds raised during this event will go towards our Class of 2020 annual scholarship fund,” Valesquez said.
“Eligible students accepted at a local community college or CSU, are nominated by teachers or community leaders for a scholarship,” Valesquez said.
“Our scholarships are awarded regardless of a student’s immigration status, and/or socio-economic background with the majority from low-income families. Our scholars are pursuing educational careers in healthcare, engineering, social work and other promising fields of study and already making a difference for themselves and their community. Scholarships have ranged from $1000.00 per recipient to as much as $2500.00 with over 50 scholarships awarded since inception. With your help, we will double last year’s fundraising and provide scholarships to several college-bound students.
“As an educator of over 20 years, I have attended many functions where deserving students were left on the margins and not recognized for their efforts and potential,” Velasquez said.
“I knew these students and I knew their struggle. They came from families with limited access to resources and faced enormous language and cultural barriers, but these kids they never cease to amaze me in how they overcome every obstacle and adversity to cross that stage and earn their diplomas. I felt compelled to do more than just shake their hand and congratulate them,” he said.
“I wanted to even the playing fields and give them a chance at winning in the next stage of their young lives, so I started calling my friends and within hours I raised $500.00 and the fund reached $10,000 for the Class of 2018,” Velasquez said.
“In our second year we tripled it to $35,000 for the Class of 2019 and we are on track this third year to exceed our goal of $70,000,” he said.
“I did create a Facebook Group and have been doing most of my promoting through that and word of mouth through friends. I have done all the organizing myself, asking for prizes, and raffle items but I do have a committee and friends who volunteered to help out last year during the event and will be doing so once again. Most of the participants are Alumni or friends of Paramount,” he said.
“People can reach out to me via text 562-896-4400 or email ParamountPrideScholarship@gmail.com,” Velazuez said.
