Since its founding in 1991 the Rotary SMART Program has assisted more than 800 students begin to plan for college as 8th graders and supported them throughout their high school careers. SMART targets students with potential who might not otherwise have a pathway to college.
Don Leydig, Mark Avalar, and Kristi Spence have led SMART, but now need to step away, and are searching for San Mateo Rotarians willing to come forward to lead the program. Ideally, if two or three Rotarians volunteer, SMART will survive and thrive.
If no one volunteers, SMART will disappear as a club project. This would be a shame because our club has given more than $800,000 to SMART students going to college, beginning with an initial grant of $500 upon 8th grade graduation and supplemented by $100/year for each year of high school. Many SMART students also are 4-year scholarship recipients, inspired to apply by the initial SMART support provided by SM Rotarians.
Don, Kristi, and Mark will assist with the leadership transition and provide a helpful roadmap for keeping the Smart Program alive.
Please reach out to Don if you're interested. Don's e-mail is: dcleydig@gmail.com. Or, you can call his home phone: 650-349-8475 or cell phone: 650-235-0057. He would love to hear from you!
