Page 27 - April 2010 • Southern California Gaming Guide

Tribes in the News (Continued)
Barona Tribe’s Education Grants SApproach $1 Million
ta and students of Garfield High School recently accepted a $5,000 education grant from the Barona Band of Mission Indians. e check was presented by Barona Tribal Chairman Edwin “ orpe” Romero and 76th District Assemblywoman
Lori Saldana.
Gar eld High School, the rst alternative high school in the U.S. located in downtown San Diego, empowers students by combining practical experience and traditional classroom instruction. e school was selected as a recipient based on an application process and endorsement by Assemblywoman Saldana. e school will use the grant money to purchase various college text books to support its “Middle College” program speci cally designed for at-risk, low performing yet academically gifted students to help meet San Diego City Schools’ graduation requirements.
As schools across the state continue to grapple with the reality of budget cuts, the Barona Band of Mission Indians has been sharing resources through its Barona Education Grant Program. Since 2006, Barona has awarded nearly $1 million to over 185 schools statewide. e Barona Education Grant Program is the rst of its kind in California created and administered by a Tribal Government. e goal of the program is to create strong educational opportunities for the children of California building upon the success of the Barona Indian Charter School, which operates under a continuous improvement model.
“We’re proud to support Gar eld High School and their successful program that reaches out to an inspiring group of students,” said Chairman Romero. “We thank the teachers and sta of Gar eld High School for helping to make an important di erence in the lives of each student, and we hope our grant will give them more tools to help them pursue their dreams.”
Schools throughout California can apply for educational grants from Barona to purchase much-needed supplies and materials that promote academic improvement. Each grant awarded by the Barona Education Grant Program is $5,000. Applications can be downloaded at barona-nsn.gov/education.
San Manuel Band Donates $242,000 Oto Prevent Gang Involvement
n March 3rd, San Manuel Band of Indians Chairman, James Ramos presented a donation of $242,000 to Stop the Violence Increase the Peace Foundation. e grant will focus on San Bernardino middle and high school students in an e ort to
prevent gang involvement and reverse the growing rates of high school drop-outs.
“It is critical for the community to support middle and high school students to make the
rightchoicesduringthistransitionalperiodintheirlives,”saidSanManuelChairmanRamos. “It is our hope that these students will continue their educations and chart a career that will
contribute to the community.”
e three-year, multi-tiered program will provide after school and high school graduation
preparation classes to youth between the ages of 14 and 18, a parenting and gang awareness program entitled, “How Can I Tell if My Child is in a Gang and What to Do About It” and a Train-the-Trainer course at California State University, San Bernardino’s College of Extended Learning, with classes including, Substance Abuse, Con ict Resolution, Peer Mediation, and O ce of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention-approved (ojjdp) gang prevention and intervention courses. ese classes will be o ered for community residents and other professionals.
e three-year grant is part of a $484,000 project that will require a match from other funders and charities as a shared community investment. Stop the Violence Increase the Peace Foundation is a member of the Inland Empire Violence Prevention Coalition (ievpc), a group of more than 60 agencies funded by the California Wellness Foundation to provide capacity building and sustainability to agencies in the Inland Empire who provide services to the underserved. IEVPC member agencies currently provide services to schools including Moreno Valley Uni ed School District, Pomona Uni ed School District, Perris Uni ed School District, Jurupa Uni ed School District, Val Verde Uni ed School District and San Bernardino.
April 2010 SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA GAMING GUIDE Page 27