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PLV Scholarship Winner: Iliana Goodhew on Immigrating to America and Her Father’s ALS
Due to generous donations from my sister Michella, my aunt Ginny, and my father Tom, I was able to kick off the Patricia Lynn Vermeulen-Tomocik (PLV) Scholarship’s first ever awards season by helping to select not just one, but three winners. The PLV Scholarship was founded in memory of my mother Patricia (1952-2014), whose giving spirit spread love, beauty, and happiness to those who knew her, those people who were made to feel special and appreciated by her genuine warmth and compassion. When the Scholarship Board reviewed applications last May, there were several outstanding candidates worthy of recognition. Board members, however, unanimously agreed that three applicants stood out as particularly…
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The Patricia Lynn Vermeulen-Tomocik (PLV) Scholarship
For a few years now, I’ve considered the possibility of someday starting a charitable fund or nonprofit in honor of my mother Patricia (1952-2014), who passed away unexpectedly a year after I graduated from university. It was a project I had originally intended to start much further into the future, perhaps even decades from now. Recently, however, a women’s volunteer organization (the Orange County chapter of Junior League, or JLOCC) provided me with the opportunity to be part of an ad hoc committee founded for the sole purpose of reviewing scholarship applications from local high school seniors. The experience was tremendous, as I found myself greatly moved by the stories…
