Scholarship Announcement
About 1
Scholarship Announcement 1
2014 Scholarship Recipients 2
2014 Events Recap 2-3
Upcoming Events 3
RVF Team Growth 4
RVF Insight 4
The Ralph Verde Foundation (RVF) is a not-for-profit organization dedicated to
supporting academic achievement. Established in March 2012, the Foundation
was founded in the memory of Ralph Verde, who passed away of a terminal
brain tumor in 2011 while completing his senior year at Yale University. Ralph’s
belief was that education was the cherished means to any goal. In alignment
with this philosophy, RVF’s mission is to support educational development,
reward high-achieving students for their successes, and inspire academic
excellence by propagating Ralph’s story. The organization supports students
financially and academically by awarding high school seniors with college
scholarships and by concurrently sponsoring education-related service
activities. To date, the Foundation has organized nineteen events and has
secured over $70,000 in donations and sponsorships, and in 2014, RVF
awarded two high school seniors with $10,000 in scholarships. RVF maintains
a readership of over 1,000 subscribers and a team of 14 volunteers, two of
whom were inducted in 2014.
About the Foundation
RVF College Support Workshop
TBA (tentatively January)
New York, NY
RVF Scholarship Award Deadline
February 1, 2015
PVHS-RVF Volleyball Invitational
April 18, 2015
Little Falls, NJ
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R V F C A L E N D A R F E AT U R E D I N T H I S I S S U E
Ralph Verde’s Yale senior portrait
2014 Annual Edition The Ralph Verde Foundation Newsletter Jan. 1, 2015
RVF hopes to further the dreams and successes of others who are just as ambitious, well-rounded, and
resilient as Ralph and demonstrate a strong commitment to making a sustainable and lasting difference in
society. The Foundation is planning on granting two 2015 high school graduates with scholarships. As of
now, over 500 New Jersey school districts have been contacted for application solicitation, but we hope
we can expand the range of applicants outside of New Jersey with your help. If you have friends or family
who are graduating high school, please let them know about RVF’s scholarship opportunity. To access the
application, please refer to www.theralphverdefoundation.org. Along with the application, candidates are
required to send an unofficial high school transcript to [email protected]. The application
deadline is scheduled for February 1, 2015. To see our 2014 RVF Scholarship Award recipients, see page 2
of this newsletter.
2014 Top Corporate Sponsors 4
SCHOLARSHIP RECIPIENTS As part of the Foundation’s three-prong mission – to develop, to reward and to inspire – RVF’s scholarship program was established to support accomplished high school students in their pursuit of a college degree. The cost of a college degree in the United States has increased substantially over the past few decades; student loan debt continues to pile up on American college grads, topping over $29,000 per student last year. In 2013, RVF granted four students $17,000 in scholarship awards, and in 2014, RVF granted another two students $10,000.
Below are the 2014 RVF Scholarship Award recipients:
RVF Scholarship Award recipients are given their scholarships in annual increments rather than in lump sum amounts. The Foundation hopes to use incremental awarding as a means to developing meaningful “mentor/mentee” relationships between RVF members and RVF Scholarship Award awardees. By establishing these longitudinal relationships, the organization will be able to identify how it can provide additional support to these students going forward.
2014 EVENTS RECAP
2014 RVF Online Raffle
April 1, 2014
Because of the success of the Foundation’s first online tricky tray
fundraiser in 2012, RVF hosted a two-week online tricky tray fundraiser.
With the generosity of its constituents and sponsors, the Foundation
was able to give away five gift cards, three prize baskets, sport tickets, a
bakers rack, a communications lesson from Jezra Kaye , and more.
Thank you to all who contributed to the event’s success— RVF raised
over $1,500!
Isabella Grabski
Princeton University
Suraj Shah
Tufts University
College Application Workshop at University Neighborhood HS
January 4, 2014
The Ralph Verde Foundation hosted a college support workshop at the
University Neighborhood High School in NYC. RVF partnered with
faculty to coach students on all areas of the college admissions process,
including the college search process, the application itself, and resume
building.
The RVF Scholarship Award Recipient Lunch
July 28, 2014
The RVF hosted a scholarship dinner benefiting those who received the 2014 Ralph Verde
Scholarship Award at Francesco’s Restaurant in Woodland Park, NJ.
2014 EVENTS RECAP (cont.)
The 2nd Annual RVF Charity Dinner
October 29, 2014
The Ralph Verde Foundation hosted a dinner, sponsored by Setton Farms, featuring
panelists Barry Kirschner (The Valerie Fund), Doug White (Columbia University), and
Floyd Rumohr (Apple Arts/Love Heals) in NYC. Over 80 guests were in attendance
and the event raised +$9,000. A special thank you to all guests and organizations
that attended and/or donated at the event!
UPCOMING EVENTS
College Application Workshop at University Neighborhood HS
Date TBA
The Ralph Verde Foundation will be hosting a second college support workshop with students from University
Neighborhood High School in NYC. RVF will coach students on all areas of the college application process,
including the college search process, the application itself, and resume building. If you’re in the NYC area and
would love to volunteer, send us an email at [email protected].
PVHS-RVF Volleyball Invitational
April 18, 2015
Passaic Valley High School will host its fourth annual volleyball tournament benefiting RVF before the beginning
of the men's high school volleyball season. RVF will be present selling concessions, memorabilia, and snacks.
Come support the PVHS team kick off their season!
PVHS-RVF Volleyball Invitational
April 5, 2014
Passaic Valley High School hosted its third annual RVF Invitational Tournament to
kick off the high school men's volleyball season. Ten high school teams
participated in an effort to prepare for the lengthy season. All net proceeds from
concessions and entry fees were donated toward the 2015 RVF Scholarship
Award and the Colin McNeill Scholarship Fund. With the help from community
members, the event raised $2,500.
Join the Team!
Do you have a passion for service like us? Do you
have great ideas on how to help us grow? Do you
want to help high school grads obtain the
education they never dreamed of? Send us an
email with your contact information with “Join the
Team” in the subject.
Donating Items or Funds
Yes. We can use your assistance with growing the
Foundation through donating items or money. All
proceeds ($1 or $1,000,000) will go to helping
others. Visit our website to learn more about how
your gift can help.
Come out and Support RVF
The RVF has been apart of and has thrown many events
thus far ranging from dinners to sporting events to
community service events. Our officers and loyal
members would love to see you participate. We have
grown substantially because of the tremendous support
we have received thus far. Keep it up!
Spread the Word to Raise Awareness
As mentioned before, we love seeing you at our events.
We also love seeing new faces. The Foundation reaches
over 500 email contacts, 375 Facebook contacts, and
200 twitter followers which is a great start! We have
surpassed our goal of obtaining 1,000 constituents!
Help us spread our mission - we would love to hit the
next thousand soon. Tell friends, family and/or
strangers about us and have them send us an email to
get them on our contact list.
The Ralph Verde Foundation is only as strong as its supporters.
48 Harrison Street
Little Falls, NJ 07424
January 1, 2o15 Annual Edition
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The Foundation has grown tremendously since its establishment and has added two new
members over the past year:
RVF Team Growth
Top 2014 Corporate Sponsors
Contribute!
Setton Farms Uber JetBlue Equinox Gym
Cynthia Figueroa Marybeth Benton
DC Event Chair Program Chair
RVF Insight FastWeb.com and CollegeAnswer.com are valuable scholarship search tools. While there are plenty of national scholarships, don’t neglect to look closer to home as well. Many local organizations offer private scholarships, and the competition for these awards is often less intense.
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