Final group of scholarships awarded by hospital auxiliary

The Menifee Global Medical Center Auxiliary honored its last group of scholarship winners recently before closing its program forever.

The closure of the hospital gift shop – the group’s primary fundraiser – during the COVID-19 pandemic and a decrease in volunteer membership has forced the auxiliary to close and to disburse the remaining funds in its scholarship account, said Judy Bair on behalf of the auxiliary.

For years, auxiliary members have hosted a luncheon at the hospital on McCall Boulevard to honor local high school and college students planning to continue their education in the healthcare field.

“We are very sad, because we like to think that our scholarship efforts have played a significant role in the education and lives of the students who were on the receiving end of those awards,” Bair wrote in an email. “I, personally, am very proud of what we’ve done and definitely wish we could continue. It was such a blessing to meet all these young people and offer them a little help along the way. They are the brightest of the bright and our hope for the future.”

This year’s recipients received their scholarship checks via mail. They are:

Victoria Bosi
Preston Christensen
Abbey Hebert
Nick Hernandez
Nathan Hughes
Destiny Loney
Donica Loney
Jennifer Mejia
Leslie Pineda
Ria Joyce Quibuyen
Preston Root
Madelyn Rae Sampson
Isabella Villegas

Since it began awarding scholarships in 1993 with the help of a grant, the auxiliary has given out more than 350 scholarships totaling well over $500,000.