News
The Ahlsten Foundation is walking alongside those who have been affected by the destruction of Hurricane Helene and Milton. The Foundation has donated to the following organizations:
$50,000 to Matthew 25 Ministries
https://www.m25m.org
$25,000 to Samaritan’s Purse (headquartered in North Carolina)
https://www.samaritanspurse.org
$25,000 to Direct Relief
https://www.Directrelief.org
Please join us in helping our friends in need.
by Ashley Seachao
Hey! My name is Ashley Saechao, and I was born and raised in Richmond, California. I graduated from Richmond High in 2022 and was fortunate to receive the Eddie Ashley Scholarship. Currently, I am a third-year student at UC Berkeley, majoring in Integrative Biology.
With the support of the Ahlsten Foundation, I had the incredible opportunity to join my club, MEDLIFE, on a student learning trip to Lima, Peru. MEDLIFE, which stands for Medicine, Education, Development for Low-Income Families Everywhere, is a non-profit organization dedicated to improving access to healthcare, education, and community development in low-income communities across Latin America and Africa.
Although the trip lasted only a week, each day was filled with enriching experiences. From Tuesday to Friday, we volunteered at mobile health clinics, rotating through various roles. During my dentistry rotation, I assisted the dentist with suctioning, and in general medicine, I informed patients about their vitals and whether they were within healthy ranges. It was fascinating to observe the doctors’ evaluations based solely on conversations with patients.
One of the days was designated for a community project, where our group helped build a park in the San Juan district. The end result was breathtaking. This hands-on experience not only provided insight into Peruvian culture but also offered valuable firsthand healthcare experience and deepened my empathy.
In addition to our volunteer work, I explored Miraflores with friends in the evenings. We enjoyed numerous delicious restaurants and met amazing people from around the world. We also spent a full day touring Ica, where we enjoyed sand dunes, sandboarding, a boat ride, and wine tasting!
If you’re considering studying abroad, I highly recommend it! While concerns about cost or distance are understandable, the experience and personal growth you gain are invaluable and will have a lasting impact!
Gratitude, Kindness, Humility, and Positivity. These are the characteristics that the Ahlsten Foundation focused on as we chose this year’s scholarship recipients. We are so excited and honored to announce the 2024 Eddie Ashley Scholars!
El Cerrito High School - Analilia, Andrew, Angelina, Renee, Sasha, Sophia & Tselha
Richmond High School - Deisy, Jose, Joshua, Justin & Salma
De Anza High School - Arwen, Jasmine, Nataly & Sydney
Kennedy High School - Aixa, Aleks, Mariana & Mark
San Rafael High School - Belinda, Hailie, Kevin & Sebastian
All Scholars, Board, & Staff
Not Pictured: Mike (Board), Jessica & Veli (Staff)
by Maria Aguirre
Hello everyone! My name is Maria Aguirre, and I am from Richmond, California. I attended Richmond High School and am a third-year student at UCLA, majoring in International Development. With the help of the Ahlsten Foundation, I was able to study abroad in Florence, Italy, last summer for one month. I had always dreamed of going to Florence, Italy, and when I found the opportunity to study abroad through my university, I knew it was something that I wanted to participate in. I participated in an English program where I studied different American authors who wrote in different locations, primarily in Florence and some in Rome. In my classes, we read books from these authors, but being in Florence allowed me to visit the locations of what we were reading! My favorite part of being in Italy was that I was able to travel to different cities on the weekends when I didn’t have classes. This allowed me to fully immerse myself in everything in Italy from the food to all the different activities. One of my least favorite things was getting sick during the trip and having to isolate in my apartment for one week. Of course, the biggest challenge was not knowing how to speak Italian. However, I was able to manage by picking up common phrases and practicing those, and a lot of the places I visited had translated signs or menus.
My biggest takeaway from this experience was to be open to trying new things and to not be afraid to get out of your comfort zone. If you are interested in studying abroad, I would 100% recommend it! Don’t be afraid that you won’t be able to manage being in another place if you don’t speak the language or if you’re scared you’ll be lost. I would recommend that you plan on researching other places you want to visit during your trip or create a list of things that you want to do before you leave so you won’t spend time during your trip finding things to do. If I could study abroad again, I would want to go to Spain!
by Lisa Romano
On August 7, 2023, Camp Achieve and the Ahlsten Foundation arranged a field trip for students attending summer camps in different locations throughout the city of Richmond, California. 162 students and 51 adults from the following locations visited the San Francisco Exploratorium:
· Shields Reid Community Center
· Booker T. Anderson Community Center
· Parchester Elementary School
· Nevin Avenue Elementary School
Students and their chaperones spent the day exploring a variety of activities the museum had to offer. Through the interactive exhibits, students were exposed and introduced to a wide range of learning topics including Art, Astronomy, Biology, Chemistry, Data, Earth Science, Engineering, Environmental Science, History, Physics and Social Science, all while having fun and meeting new friends.
Camp Achieve is a 9-week summer camp program that provides academic support to students between 6 and 12 years old in the Richmond Unified School District, providing a safe place for kids to develop their academic skills during the summer months. This program is a major collaboration between WCCUSD, the Ed Fund, & the Recreation Dept. of the City of Richmond.
If you would like to learn more about Camp Achieve and why we are happy to support this organization, please click on the following link: https://www.edfundwest.org/
On May 21, 2023, the Ahlsten Foundation honored this year’s class of 2023 Eddie Ashley Scholars at Flores Restaurant, Corte Madera. This dinner featured 24 amazing scholars, in addition to Eddie Ashley himself! Congratulations to the Class of 2023!
(Eddie is pictured in all the photos below).
El Cerrito High School - Christian, Henry, Joaquin & Justus
Kennedy High School - Alma, Gadiel, Hector, Jose, Kaylie, Lesly & Mia
Richmond High School - Andrea E., Andrea M., Brandon, Daniel, Fabrizio, Fatima, Jocelyn, Marlene, Takaiyah
San Rafael High School - Diana, Jennifer, Norman & Pablo
All Scholars with Eddie and our board.
by Doris Ahlsten
In March, friends approached Todd and me with a proposal. If the Ahlsten Foundation was willing to cover the cost of Girl Scouts cookies and shipping, these friends would do all the work in packaging and sending 2 boxes of Girl Scout cookies to every Eddie Ashley Scholar (45 total).
We were initially reluctant, as the cost of shipping did not seem to make sense, but we decided to do a trial run and send 6 boxes to our 3 graduating college seniors. One senior wrote the following after she received the package: “ I wanted to thank you for the super sweet package! (literally and figuratively!) I had never had Girl Scout cookies before. My little sister and I shared them last night and she says they’re her new favorite cookie.”
After receiving this response, it was an easy decision. We gave our friends the green light to send out the remaining 42 packages. A week later, all Eddie Ashley Scholars received a sweet treat in the mail.
Special thanks to this family for helping us find special and sweet ways to support our Eddie Ashley Scholars!!!
The Ahlsten Foundation is excited to announce the addition of two board members: Mike Kelly and Jeff Mazzariello. Mike has worked almost two decades at Gilead Sciences, a leading global pharmaceuticals company focused on best-in-class therapies to improve quality of life. We are extremely grateful to add Mike’s extensive experience and knowledge to our board. Given the numerous healthcare challenges that individuals and communities face, both locally and globally, Mike’s perspective and insights will be a great asset to the Foundation.
Jeff comes to us with over 40 years of experience working in faith-based communities and currently serves as a Lead Pastor at Marin Covenant Church. We are honored to have his wisdom, discernment, and spiritual passion. A cornerstone of the Foundation is to invest resources in faith-based programs that help those in need live healthy and productive lives. Jeff’s discernment will be a valuable contribution to the Foundation’s future endeavors.
Please click on the link below to read more on Mike and Jeff.
The Ahlsten Foundation is proud to support SOAR for Youth, an extraordinary organization which helps foster youth move through adolescence and into their adult lives with hope, confidence and independence.
By Lisa Romano
DID YOU KNOW:
- 70% of foster youth dream of going to college. Only 3% actually make it.
- 3 out of every 10 of our nation’s homeless are former foster youth.
- 83% of children in foster care are held back in school by 3 rd grade.
SOAR for Youth FACTS:
- 96% of SOAR Students Graduate from High School!
- 90% of SOAR Students Attend College!
- SOAR for Youth won the Prestigious Jefferson Award for “Multiplying Good”!
SOAR for Youth teaches, coaches, and counsels their young people (middle school to 4th year in College) in academics, life skills, emotional intelligence and career development. Key programs include four-year summer pre-collegiate academies, school year academic support and a summer internship program.
On our recent Site Visit, it was clear that the students were very engaged and thankful for this opportunity. The overall feeling was that they now have a family and they are gaining skills to go to college, realize their dreams, then come back and help other foster kids do the same.
Kudos to Diana Brown (founder) and the many volunteers at SOAR for Youth!
If you would like to learn more about SOAR for Youth, and why we are excited to support them, please click on the following link: soarforyouth.org
The Ahlsten Foundation is so excited to introduce this year’s Eddie Ashley Scholars. On May 22, 2022, we met 23 amazing scholars representing 5 different high schools at Flores Restaurant in Corte Madera. It was a wonderful evening celebrating these wonderful individuals.. We look forward to walking with them these next 4 years!
Richmond High School
Adrian-Cal Poly (Civil Engineering)
Andy-UC Santa Barbara (Mechanical Engineering)
Anthony-Cal Poly (Computer Science and Engineering)
Ashley-UC Berkeley (Intergrative Biology)
Jade-Cal Poly (Civil Engineering)
Starr-UCLA (Political Science)
Citlaly-UC Berkeley (Psychology)
Yeison-San Francisco State (Molecular Science)
San Andreas High School
Cesar-College of Marin (Business)
Isabella-Sacramento State (Early Childhood Development)
San Rafael High School
Max-USC (Mechanical Engineering)
Nicolas-UC San Diego (Psychology)
El Cerrito High School
Aayushma-UC Berkeley (Public Health)
Jasper-UC Santa Barbara (Global Studies and International Diplomacy)
Kelsey-San Jose State (Public Relations)
Oliver-University of Montana (Wildlife Biology)
Samantha-UC San Diego (Marin Biology)
Vivian-Wellesley (Data Science)
Zachary-Northeastern (Business Management)
Kennedy High School
Karla-UC Merced (Psychology)
Kimberly-UC Irvine (Software Engineering)
Trinity-UC Davis (Biological Science)
Zakaria-University of San Francisco (Criminal Justice)
