Van Nuys : Carwash to Benefit Scholarship Fund

Patricia Franco would rather see kids going to college than see them in her job, which is why the parole agent with the California Youth Authority started the San Fernando Valley Opportunity Through Education Scholarship Fund.

“I usually get them after they get into trouble and have committed an offense,” said Franco, who recruited nine other community leaders for the fund. “This is my way of providing them a few opportunities prior to that.”

On Saturday, about 50 teen-agers plus community leaders will wash cars in a parking lot at the corner of Van Nuys Boulevard and Saticoy Avenue. The carwash, to be held from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m., will be the first step in a $15,000 fund-raising drive for the scholarship fund.

If the goal is reached, the money would be used for $1,000 or $500 scholarships for four-year or two-year college tuitions or for trade schools. Unlike most traditional scholarships awarded to top students, the program will be open to anyone with at least a C average who has been involved in his or her community.

“We formed it so they can pursue a higher education and have choices in life,” Franco said. “So they can see they don’t have to stay in one place, that they can be more than what they are.”

The car washers will include police officers and leaders of community organizations involved in the fund. The teen-agers have been recruited from local schools and community groups.

The scholarship will be open to anyone in the San Fernando Valley. The first annual scholarship dinner banquet will be held in February.

“We want to keep it open, and we’re encouraging all ethnicities to apply,” Franco said.