Volume 39 No. 36

WESTSIDESTORY NEWSPAPER

California Celebrates National Scholarship Month by Empowering Over 5 Million Children with CalKIDS Scholarships families and to promote college-going mind- eligible child a scholarship account automati-

SACRAMENTO, CA - As National Scholarship Month shines a spotlight on the power of educational opportunity, California is cel- ebrating the growing impact of the CalKIDS Scholarship Program, the nation's largest chil- dren's development account program, serving more than five million children statewide.

Launched in 2022, the California Kids In- vestment and Development Savings Program (CalKIDS) provides scholarships worth up to $1,500 for eligible public-school students and up to $175 in scholarships for every child born in California on or after July 1, 2022. Admin- istered by the ScholarShare Investment Board (SIB) and chaired by State Treasurer Fiona Ma, CPA, CalKIDS was created to make high- er education more accessible for California sets across communities.

In just three years, more than 750,000 stu- dents have already claimed their scholarships, which can be used to help pay for tuition, books, housing, and other educational expens- es at accredited colleges, universities, and vo- cational schools across the country.

"CalKIDS is a catalyst for building family assets and expands access to education," said Treasurer Ma. "For older students, it offers real financial support to meet immediate education needs. For younger families, it plants the seeds of lifelong financial literacy."

The CalKIDS Program is designed to ad- vance educational access and economic mo- bility for California families. By giving every Cover Story Continued cally, with no application required, CalKIDS removes barriers and provides families with an easy first step toward higher education.

"Having a CalKIDS [Scholarship] Account had helped me a lot," said Abigail Lopez, a student from CSU San Bernardino. "I found out about it my first year of college and wanted to use it to pay my tuition, books, and housing. It relieved some stress I had about paying for things for school. I will forever be grateful for the money I had received from CalKIDS."

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California's Oldest AME Church Celebrates Historic

The overflowing pride, spiritual joy and sense of community was tangible at the oldest Af- rican American church in California, St. An- drews African Methodist Episcopal (A.M.E.). On November 15-16. the congregation cel- ebrated its 175th anniversary with a special church service and a "living museum" event in Sacramento.

Clergy, local elected officials, church auxil- iary groups and other well-wishers gathered for the two-day celebration, which honored the founding of the faith community, the on- going mission of the church, and the legacy it continues to uphold.

175th Anniversary

The Rev. Dr. Jason D. Thompson, Senior Pas- tor of St. Andrews, was raised in an A.M.E. church in Durham, North Carolina. He told California Black Media (CBM) that as he has grown older, he is "thankful to support the mission of a free African society."

Thompson's leadership at St. Andrews fo- cuses on continuing the church's long legacy of Christian witness and advocacy for social justice, political, and educational concerns af- fecting underrepresented communities in Sac- ramento. He emphasizes the church as a place for belonging and a base for making a differ- ence in the community.

"That society really wanted social, econom- ic empowerment - all these things they were fighting for so that freed Blacks at the time could make it," Thompson said. "For me, the A.M.E. church can recapture that sense of making sure those who are downtrodden in our society understand that Jesus is love and liberation comes for them specifically. That means a lot to me now.".

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