The California Highway Patrol oversees safety on California's highways.
As in other states, the California Highway Patrol operates as the state's law enforcement agency. The California Highway Patrol has jurisdiction over California's highways and state roadways. Along with providing safety on the roads, the patrol offers a number of community safety programs, youth programs and senior services. The California Highway Patrol also sponsors several scholarships to assist the dependents of California Highway Patrol members.
Sponsoring
Scholarships from the California Highway Patrol are administered through the California Highway Patrol 11-99 Foundation. The foundation, which was established in 1981, was named 11-99 after the patrolmen radio code 11-99, which means an officer needs assistance. Along with scholarships, the foundation offers other emergency financial assistance to patrol members and their families. Funding for the scholarships comes from individual and corporate donations to the foundation.
Function
The main function of the scholarships from the California Highway Patrol 11-99 Foundation is to provide college money to the family members of California Highway Patrol officers. According to the California Highway Patrol 11-99 Foundation website, every year nearly 1,000 children and dependents of patrolmen reach college age and need help paying for college. Since the scholarship program began, over $14 million have been given away. The scholarships also help promote the work of the foundation and offer the foundation and the California Highway Patrol positive publicity.
Features
The four named scholarships from the California Highway Patrol 11-99 Foundation each provide varying amounts of scholarship assistance based on funding received each year. The Creedon and Garibaldi Memorial Scholarship and the Fran and Harry Xanders Memorial Scholarship both go to dependents of active or retired California Highway patrolmen. Dependents of a California Highway patrolman who has earned a Medal of Honor are eligible for the Medal of Valor Scholarship. The Herman L. Lenz Memorial Scholarship goes to any active California police officer or deputy sheriff. All of the scholarships are awarded based on financial need, academic merit, community involvement and leadership activities and may be used for undergraduate or graduate studies.
Process
Scholarship applications can be found and submitted online through the California Highway Patrol 11-99 Foundation website. Applications and information on the next year's scholarship program typically can be found on the website staring in May of each year. Applications are then accepted the following January through March, with winners notified by June. Nine award ceremonies are held across California in July to honor the scholarship recipients. The award ceremonies bring together donors to see how their generosity benefits the scholarship recipients.
Tags: California Highway, California Highway Patrol, Highway Patrol, 11-99 Foundation, Highway Patrol 11-99