Save Our Youth to honor scholars tonight

Save Our Youth, a youth violence prevention center, will award thousands of dollars in scholarships to Newport-Mesa Unified School District students from 6 to 8 p.m. tonight at Rea Elementary School’s Multi-Purpose Hall.

The organization will give out a total of $110,000 in scholarships at the ceremony, nearly half of the total amount of awards the organization plans to deliver in 2008, which is $250,000.

Save Our Youth has been working with Newport-Mesa schools for 15 years. The Costa Mesa organization’s goal is to provide assistance to low-income families from Westside communities, but provides scholarship help to children from all over the district, said Executive Director Trevor Murphy.

About 250 students have participated in the program, with 34 graduating seniors being honored at the ceremony.

Students earn their scholarship awards based on their academic progress that is monitored by the program. Each month, through progress reports, students earn financial rewards based on their grades, Murphy said. If a student is struggling with a D or an F, they must receive four hours of tutoring, but if they score well, they earn a monthly scholarship. Starting in seventh grade, the students can earn as much as $8,000 over the years, which is then matched at the time of their graduation by the program to be used as a scholarship.

DANIEL TEDFORD may be reached at (714) 966-4632 or at [email protected].