“Our goal is to make Kern County a better place to live through charitable giving,” began our guest Dr. Kimberly Beall. “Kern Community Foundation helps people support the causes they care about most. We connect generous donors – individuals, families, and businesses – to energize community members and organizations; matching their charitable interests with our community’s needs. The passion we share unites us, inspires us, and drives us toward a bold vision for the future – to make Kern County more vibrant, healthier, and stronger for all of its residents.” Started in 1999, KCF helps charitable organizations organize their fundraising efforts. KCF, also, generates capital to provide philanthropic solutions to help Kern country become a better place.
Much of the Kern Community Foundation’s efforts go to improve the education level of its students in order to close the gap with the State average. Today, Kern County, shows 17% fewer college graduates compared to State average. In May 2017, out of KCF, Kern REDPIN was formed, a group of local leaders who share a vision to understand the root issues of low college graduation rates and has been working with North High School to ultimately find a solution to this pervasive problem. A year has been spent trying to compile data to understand what factors contribute to the low academic advancement and lack of desire to pursue post high school education. Once the issues are exposed, REDPIN will begin designing and implementing programs to address and eliminate some of these obstacles. “Kern Community Foundation believes that college graduation is an important step toward achieving personal dreams for the future and we are here to help. We provide resources, funding, and learning opportunities for our scholarship recipients and their parents. We also work with local leaders in education to ensure that we all, as a community, increase the level of educational attainment in Kern County,” concluded our guest speaker. Rotary is curious to learn about the outcome of this project and hopes it will be implemented in other local and national schools. If you want to learn more about Kern Community Foundation, visit the website linked below!