E M P O W E R A B I L I T Y   2020
1 Million Dollars given to students!

2020 was the best year yet for SupportAbility!! It is our 20th year and we gave one million dollars to deserving, courageous students.

Most impressively we gave a four-year college scholarship to a young girl, Haley Flores. She battles a congenital heart disability. In the Fall she willbegin her second year at Cal Poly Pomona majoring in Criminology. It will be exciting being “in the wings” for her.

The second milestone we accomplished was giving a one-year scholarship opportunity to a wonderful young man, Angel Rivera. Angel has no arms and no legs. He has been accepted to Irvine Valley College into a small specialized program for electrical engineering.

These awards were in addition to our annual Julie Inman Courage Awards. We presented a total of 35. Our memorial awards totaled seven this year. The annual Jane Noebel Courage Award, Michael Motherway Courage Award, Michael Normanly Courage Award and Max Garrick Courage Award were presented. To these The Brenda Eastman Courage Award, the Dr. Edward Garr Courage Award and the Dorey Madrid Courage Award were added.

I was asked “What am I most proud of on my 54th birthday.” Without hesitation I said “SupportAbility!” Then I thought… I’m most proud to have all of You, my loyal contributors and all the wonderful students we have awarded and met.

I am in awe of what these incredible students mean for our world and am deeply grateful to our donors who help provide opportunities for our students to be everything they are capable of. It is directly through your support, generosity and commitment that we can witness students shine and continue the light and legacy of SupportAbillity.

“I think that regardless of our culture, age or even personal handicaps, we can still strive for something exceptional… Why settle…”
– Jimmy Carter

This is true of all our recipients.

Reception

In June of 2019 we held our annual reception at the beautiful Santa Ana Country Club. It is our chance to honor our recipients as well as thank our contributors. Our students are the headliners, our contributors return each June to meet these remarkable young people.This year due to Covid we had to cancel our event but we certainly plan to continue it next year!!

Everyone loves the evening and gains something powerful from our presentation. One contributor facing her own battle with Stage 4 cancer remarked that she felt she had been helped.

“They have all gone through so much….”

Fourteen of our award-winning students introduced themselves and shared their triumphs and struggles with their benefactors. It was so inspirational, emotional and unrehearsed. Their poise and maturity shined brightly! There wasn’t a dry eye in the room. A pin drop could be heard as each student spoke!

Thank you !!

Even without this event this has by far been our biggest brightest year!! I would like to thank my wonderful Board Members for taking the initiative to step up and take on more and more responsibilities!