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Hispanic Scholarship Fund Expands Presence in the Northeast with Opening of A Regional Office in New York City

Hispanic Scholarship Fund Expands Presence in the Northeast with Opening of A Regional Office in New York City

Published 02-26-03

Submitted by Hispanic Scholarship Fund

NEW YORK, NY - The Hispanic Scholarship Fund (HSF), the nation's leading organization supporting Hispanic higher education, announced today the opening of the HSF Northeast Regional Office. In line with its goal to double the rate of Hispanics earning a college degree to 18 percent by 2010, HSF - headquartered in San Francisco, Calif. - is opening regional offices in cities with high concentrations of Hispanics.

"In its 27-year history, HSF has been strongly committed to continuing its support in the Northeast region through our programs," said Sara Martinez Tucker, HSF president and chief executive officer. "The regional office in New York allows us to offer parents and students in the region the financial resources and assistance that will help break the cycle of under-education among Hispanic Americans."

According to the 2000 U.S. Census, 15 percent of Hispanics in the U.S. are located in the Northeast. New York City is ranked as the second largest Hispanic market in the country with one out of every four people who live there being Hispanic, totaling just over two million people. To date, HSF has awarded $9.2 million in scholarships to 6,489 students in the Northeast. Of the 57 percent of Hispanics who graduate high school, only 32 percent enroll in college and 11 percent of those students receive their degree, compared to 28 percent of non-Hispanic Whites who complete their degrees.

As a result, HSF will continue to expand its programs and activities to provide Latino students and their families the tools, information and mentoring to make higher education an accessible and affordable reality.

The regional office, headed by Dalissa Vargas, will work in collaboration with HSF's national outreach programs, to change these statistics by hosting town hall meetings, participating in college fairs, informing high school counselors and other educational leaders about HSF initiatives, and serve as a local contact for HSF Scholars in the Northeast region.

Additionally, the office will be responsible for increasing awareness of the importance of Latinos earning a college degree and how HSF's initiatives are designed to help make graduating from college a reality among the Latino community. The regional office will also work with the local business community and individuals to build ownership at a grassroots level for HSF's mission.

In addition, the HSF Northeast regional office will open the HSF/Microsoft Community Technology Center in early 2004 to provide access to computers and software in order to best equip the Northeast region's Hispanic students and families with key information about higher education and financial aid opportunities available to them. The regional office also will provide:

-- General information to students and parents about colleges and universities, including how to access tools, such as computers and the Internet, as well as guidebooks of local post-secondary institutions.
-- Guidance to assist students with scholarship searches, completing college applications and financial aid forms, internship applications and other educational matters.
-- Free educational workshops or town hall meetings to help parents and students learn about college education and financial aid opportunities.

HSF has opened other regional offices in Southern and Central California, the Midwest, the Southeast and Texas. Funding for these regional offices was provided by a $50 million landmark grant by the Lilly Endowment Inc.

About HSF
The Hispanic Scholarship Fund (HSF) is the nation's leading organization supporting Hispanic higher education. Founded in 1975, HSF's vision is to strengthen the country by advancing college education among Hispanic Americans, the fastest-growing segment of the U.S. population. In support of its mission to double the rate of Hispanics earning college degrees, HSF, a 501(c)3 not-for profit organization, provides the Latino community more college scholarships and educational outreach support than any other organization in the country. Headquartered in San Francisco, HSF has opened regional offices in Southern and Central California, the Northeast, the Southeast, Midwest and Texas. In addition, HSF launched the Washington, D.C.-based Hispanic Scholarship Fund Institute to generate public partnerships in support of its work. During its 27-year history, HSF has awarded nearly 54,000 scholarships in excess of $89 million to Latinos from all 50 states, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands who have attended more than 1,300 colleges and universities.

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