Santa Monica Police Activities League (PAL) hosted its annual Recognition Dinner at the Le Meridien Delfina hotel last week, awarding 12 students with $28,000 in scholarships to local students for post high school education expenses.
Scholarship recipients included juniors and seniors attending Santa Monica High School with an impressive resume of academic achievements, leadership skills and a diverse array of extra curricular activities.
Many of the scholarship recipients ran the Los Angeles Marathon this past March, have completed the Junior Police Academy and have volunteered their time with multiple local nonprofit organizations.
“We are thrilled to provide the hard working SM PAL youth with the opportunity for post high school education. We are honored to play a part in their development and look forward to seeing what paths these exceptional young adults pursue after graduating from high school”, said Eula Fritz, Executive Director of Santa Monica PAL.
Recipients were given the opportunity to make speeches at the dinner and it was clear from their comments that PAL made an immense impact on their lives.
“PAL’s programs focus on education, life skills, physical activity and being a good citizen,” said Santa Monica Police Chief Jacqueline Seabrooks. “All of these elements combined will help our youth touch their own future and create their own destinies and nobody can dispute the importance of that.”
The scholarships are made possible through the Chris Carrey PAL Education Fund, an endowment fund established through a joint gift from Ed Simmons, Standard Parking and Neil and Karen Carrey.
To date, Santa Monica PAL has awarded 108 students with more than $160,000 in scholarships through the Chris Carrey Education Fund.
