BY GAIL MATSUNAGA
From Dateline (August 19, 2004)

Family Foundations Contribute to Guardian Scholars

Two gifts totaling $100,000 have been awarded by family-based foundations to the Guardian Scholars Program.

Launched in fall 1998, Guardian Scholars recognizes the achievements and ambitions of earning a college degree by students who have left the foster care system, were wards of the court or come from similar backgrounds.

Wishing to give back to the university, the Dhont Family Foundation has contributed $50,000 to the program. The family’s ownership and management of the Nutwood Apartments, a longtime, popular and convenient housing complex for Titan students, influenced the foundation’s support of the university and the Guardian Scholars Program.

It is the foundation’s hope, says Carlos Leija, former development director of the Guardian Scholars Program and now executive director of Alumni Relations, that they support the scholars on an annual basis.

Another $50,000 came from the Annie E. Casey Foundation. The gift followed a campus visit by a foundation representative and a recommendation by alumnus and 2004 Vision & Visionaries honoree Joe Moderow (B.A. economics ’70), retired senior vice president, legal and public affairs, general counsel and corporate secretary of UPS. The foundation was created by UPS founder Jim Casey in honor of his mother. Its mission is to help build better futures for millions of disadvantaged children.