San Ramon Rotary Club donates $75,000+ to SRVEF

The Rotary Club of San Ramon recently presented the San Ramon Valley Education Foundation with a $75,989 donation check from funds raised during the annual Online Auction for Education.

SRVEF executive director Vanessa Berastain said these funds will directly support San Ramon Valley schools with “cutting edge programs like Imagineering, which is designed to spark interest in middle and high school students to choose science, technology, engineering, art and math courses.” The funds raised will benefit over 30,000 students in the San Ramon Valley Unified School District, she said

While presenting the check to SRVEF, Rotary Club president Lucky Sandhu thanked fellow Rotarians “for their great contributions to this year’s strong fundraising effort, and to the solid partnership that San Ramon Rotary enjoys with the SRVEF.” The Rotary Club has been a financial supporter of the SRVEF for over 25 years.

“It is extremely rewarding to see how our Rotarians are making a difference in the lives of our young people and their teachers through scholarships and support of critical school programs,” said former Rotary Club president Gary Sloan.

The club will be honored at the SRVEF’s April 18 “Celebrate Innovation in Education” endowment dinner. The dinner will recognize the array of science and music learning projects that the SRVEF has supported with its endowment fund, as well as the organizations and individuals who have supported said fund. Tickets for the dinner cost $160 per person and will be held at the Diablo Country Club, 1700 Club House Road in Diablo from 6-9:30 p.m.

“Being a part of the Rotary Club of San Ramon allows us to contribute to the community in a way that we could never do on our own,” said online auction co-chair Colette Lay.

The donation was raised by the Rotarian’s annual Online Auction for Education in September, which is held in conjunction with SRVEF’s Run for Education. The Run for Education, entering its 35th year of existence, has traditionally been the primary source of fundraising for the SRVEF. The 35th annual run will take place Oct. 14 this year.

Auction items included aerial tours of the Bay Area, Skydiving, warriors tickets, sports equipment, and an instant wine cellar consisting of a wine collection.

Since its establishment in 1986 the Rotary Club of San Ramon has raised over $2 million in support of various local and global causes including, education, female empowerment, disease and hunger eradication, clean water, veterans support, and the promotion of peace. The San Ramon Rotary Club meets every Thursday at noon at the Crow Canyon Country Club.

SRVEF is the primary fundraising organization of the San Ramon Valley Unified School District. Each academic year it collectively raises over $7 million for the financial support of the school district and general advancement of public education in the region.