$800K Secured for LAVC Family Resource Center

VALLEY GLEN, CA – Assemblymember Adrin Nazarian, 46th California State Assembly District, secured a California State Budget Carve-Out of $800,000 to enable the Los Angeles Valley College (LAVC) Family Resource Center (FRC) to expand its services for students who are parents.

The college held a special reception to honor Assemblymember Nazarian and his support for the FRC on Thursday, November 29, 2018. LACCD Board of Trustee Vice President Andra Hoffman, Marianne Haver Hill of Propel L.A., college officials and employees, and dozens of representatives from local non-profit agencies were in attendance.

The $800,000 carve-out will allow the FRC, which was awarded the State Chancellor’s Student Success Award in 2016, to both expand the physical footprint of its current facility as well as create a satellite location on campus so it can serve more student parents, workforce training participants and other vulnerable students. Community social service agencies will also be located at the satellite FRC.

“The Family Resource Center at Los Angeles Valley College is so lucky to have the support of Assemblyman Nazarian, who knew from the second he visited the FRC, that helping student parents holistically is part of ensuring their student success,” said LAVC President Dr. Erika Endrijonas. “His efforts in championing state funding benefit the work of the FRC, which serves student parents as well as other vulnerable populations, including food and housing insecure students and workforce participants.”

“The old adage, ‘Give a person a fish and they’ll eat for a day. Teach a person to fish, and they’ll eat for a lifetime,’ is perfect to describe why investing $800,000 into the Los Angeles Valley College Family Resource Center is so critical to ending the cycle of poverty for students,” stated Assemblymember Adrin Nazarian. “We need to support students who are working hard to earn a college degree that will increase their workforce potential.”

LAVC Family Resource Center Founder and Director, Marni Roosevelt added: “We are so grateful to Assemblymember Nazarian, and look forward to using these funds to help us better support the needs of student parents. Many students come to us with the responsibilities of raising kids and supporting families, so by expanding our services we can not only help improve their lives, but the lives of their children.”

Amber Angel, LAVC graduate and FRC program coordinator, also shared her story. “As a single mother and a first-generation college student, I am so incredibly lucky to have attended LAVC because there is a social support network here. I would not have been able to successfully transfer to CSUN without the resources at Valley College that are available to students parents like myself.”

Assemblymember Adrin Nazarian presented a symbolic check for $800,000 to Los Angeles Valley College President Dr. Erika Endrijonas, LACCD Board of Trustee member Andra Hoffman, FRC Founder and Director Marni Roosevelt, FRC Program Coordinator Amber Angel, and LAVC Adult/Community Education and Workforce Training Dean Dr. Doug Marriott to celebrate the California State Budget Carve-out.

As the end of the reception, LAVC and its Foundation surprised Assemblymember Nazarian with an announcement of a new endowed scholarship bearing his name. The scholarship will be awarded annually to deserving student parents.

“With great appreciation to Assemblymember Adrin Nazarian for sharing the educational vision of Los Angeles Valley College and its Family Resource Center, I am pleased to announced that Los Angeles Valley College and its Foundation have established the ‘Adrin Nazarian Scholarship and Endowment’,” said Raul Castillo, executive director of the LAVC Foundation.

The announcement was capped off with $100 donations to the scholarship from LAVC President Endrijonas, and Patricia Ballew, LAVC Foundation board president.

The LAVC Foundation will provide up to $1,000 in matching funds for donations made to the newly created scholarship. For more information about the Adrin Nazarian Scholarship and how to contribute, please call Raul Castillo in the Los Angeles Valley College Foundation at (818) 947-2618.

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About Los Angeles Valley College (LAVC)

Los Angeles Valley College, established in 1949, is a public two-year community college situated in the heart of the San Fernando Valley. LAVC provides residents of the San Fernando Valley community with transfer education, career technical education and training, and lifelong learning opportunities. As one of the largest campuses in the Los Angeles Community College District (LACCD), it serves more than 20,000 students in the communities of Van Nuys, North Hollywood, Valley Village, Panorama City, Burbank, Sherman Oaks, Studio City, and Encino. LAVC offers more than 100 associate degree programs and 62 certificate programs in in-demand career fields. The college is currently undergoing a $620 million renovation and building project funded by voter-supported Proposition A/AA and Measure J. For more information, visit the Los Angeles Valley College website

About the LAVC Family Resource Center (FRC)

The LAVC Family Resource Center is an award-winning model of a public/private partnership, and is the first and only Family Resource Center on a community college campus in California. Established in 2000, it provides support to student parents at Los Angeles Valley College as well as the community. The FRC has evolved to support other vulnerable populations such as food and housing insecure students and workforce participants going through short-term training. It currently offers a menu of supportive services for LAVC student parents including after-school child care, a kid-friendly study lounge, a lactation room, playgroups for infants, toddlers and preschoolers (ages 0-3.5 years old), child clothes exchange, parenting workshops, a computer and print lab, textbook library, school supplies, academic counseling, and more. In addition, its Infant and Toddler playgroups, and Creative Activities playgroups for kids 2.5 to 3.5 years old are also available to the community. For more information, visit the LAVC Family Resource Center website.

About the LAVC Foundation

The Los Angeles Valley College Foundation is a tax-exempt, non-profit 501(c)(3) organization that broadens educational opportunities for Los Angeles Valley College’s students. Established in 1971, it is designated to receive gifts for the college from individuals, corporations, and foundations. For more information, visit the LAVC Foundation website.