Featured Chapter: Oakland Dollars for Scholars

 

Sometimes it takes only a small happening to start a big help.

Oakland’s Pamela Collinshill had a small business going of her own, but still found time to search for college scholarships for those who asked. She found few scholarships for Oakland students. “But my town needed help so much,” she said. But what she did find in 1995 was Dollars for Scholars and the information on starting a chapter to help students. She did just that, and is now an original founding board member of a successful chapter that celebrates its 15th anniversary in 2010.

Pam remembers that it wasn’t easy starting out. The members did the usual fundraising activities – several raffles, candy sales, even a walkathon with pledges.

They gave out their first scholarship award in 1996.  All of the awards were $250, while a few were for $500. But even that was a help to the students who needed a start to get into college.

 

Some of her friends and acquaintances asked, “Why are you doing this?  It’s a waste of your time.” But she somehow knew it would pay off for students with so much financial need. In 2006, 10 years later, Pam knew she had accomplished what she wanted. Through contacts, a wonderful donor found the chapter, and gave them $16,000 that year for scholarship awards. Now the chapter gives out awards of $1,000 to $4,000 to the Oakland students!

The chapter has awarded over $25,000 to students in the past 10 years.  One particular story comes back to Pam’s mind. The chapter helped a young student who had always been told she would not amount to much of anything and would never get on the right path. But did she ever prove those naysayers wrong. With a small $250 Dollars for Scholars scholarship, she did start college, and she never looked back. Law school was next, and she is now a partner in a large law firm in San Francisco. She wrote her story in a local publication that spawned “oohs and aahs” from those who questioned her. Oakland Dollars for Scholars is happy to be one of whose who helped and believed in her.

A chapter story remembered:  Once when Scholarship America was still Citizens Scholarship Foundation of America, and was celebrating Irving Fradkin as its founder, Oakland Dollars for Scholars’ volunteers found themselves in a grocery outlet store collecting donations for the chapter. They asked everyone who stopped at their table to guess what the price was of a popular grocery item back in 1958 when Dr. Fradkin started the first chapter. Then, the visitor was asked to donate that much to the chapter. Most donors just dropped in more than the actual price or several dollars. Maybe this is a good idea for other chapters around California!

Congratulations to Pam Collinshill, and all of the Oakland volunteers she has inspired to help in this wonderful effort.

 

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Because College Doesn't Happen By Chance®.