San Diego County CA— The North County African American Women’s Association (NCAAWA) has accepted the opportunity to expand its educational support programs with an additional $10,000 in college scholarships funded by North Island Credit Union. As part of the partnership, the credit union is also providing financial literacy training for upper class high school girls in NCAAWA’s Global Ambassadors Mentoring Program.
“Helping young women achieve their dreams is made possible through our community coming together to provide the educational support needed. We are particularly excited to have North Island Credit Union offer this additional college scholarship support and essential financial mentoring for rising high school students,” said Linda Simpkins-Berry, President, NCAAWA. “This partnership,” says Simpkins-Berry, “will help NCAAWA continue our mission to empower, inspire, and engage young women to increase their self-sufficiency.”
North Island Credit Union CEO Steve O’Connell added, “We are honored to partner with NCAAWA and support these wonderful programs that are inspiring and empowering young women to succeed. The organization’s holistic approach is truly changing lives in our communities. We look forward to helping make the educational dreams of these students come true, while also providing life-long financial skills. We encourage local North County students to apply for one of the NCAAWA scholarships and explore its mentoring programs.”
North County female students of African American descent who are graduating high school seniors, current ROP, trade school, college and/or graduate students are eligible to apply for scholarship consideration. North Island Credit Union is specifically expanding NCAAWA’s ability to award up to four $2,500 NCAAWA/North Island Credit Union scholarships, with consideration to be given when possible to students pursuing degrees in education. More information about all NCAAWA scholarships can be found at ncaawa.org/scholarships. Online applications will be accepted through April 30, 2021.
NCAAWA’s first multicultural mentoring program, known as “Becoming a Global Citizen”, began in 2014 for 8th grade girls with the focus on life skills to enhance their personal growth and development, including public speaking, decision making and learning early money matters. The “Global Ambassador Program” for upper class high school students – launched July 2020 – empowers young women with leadership skills, understanding in-depth financial literacy and global issues that impact their social and career mobility. North Island Credit Union will provide its participants with interactive financial programs and mentoring to teach budgeting, money management, savings, and practical financial life skills, among other topics.
The NCAAWA Vision is to provide a support network through education, health awareness, and life skills programs for women and girls in North San Diego County. “Our first support efforts,” says a founder, Raye Clendening, “focused on women returning to the workforce. Soon thereafter we moved our support in the form of scholarships to high school and continuation students of African American descent pursuing higher education.” To date, the organization has provided over $270,000 in scholarship awards and grants to help young women further their education.
About North County African American Women’s Association
Established in 1995, the North County African American Women’s Association (NCAAWA) is an all-inclusive non-profit 501(c)(3) volunteer organization located in North San Diego County. Its mission is to provide a support network through education, health awareness, and life skills programs for women and girls in San Diego’s North County to increase their self-sufficiency. Maintaining its charitable, educational, and recreational objectives, the organization, through its mission, has opened support to all women in San Diego’s North County, celebrating ethnic and racial pride.
About North Island Credit Union, a division of California Credit Union
California Credit Union is a federally insured, state chartered credit union founded in 1933 that serves public or private school employees, community members and businesses across California. With more than 165,000 members and assets of nearly $4 billion, California Credit Union has 25 branches throughout Los Angeles, Orange and San Diego counties. The credit union operates in San Diego County as North Island Credit Union, a division of California Credit Union. California Credit Union offers a full suite of consumer, business and investment products and services, including comprehensive consumer checking and loan options, personalized financial planning, business banking, and leading-edge online and mobile banking. Please visit northisland.ccu.com for more information or follow the credit union on Instagram® or Facebook® @northislandcu.