Community Benefactors
Community Benefactors
Since the beginning, the Festival has always been about benefiting the community and beyond. With every delicious strawberry bite non-profit food booths reap 100 percent of the profits to benefit their causes. Additional charitable groups aligned with the Festival receive stipends or grants. Since its inception, the California Strawberry Festival has raised close to $4 million dollars to help others in the extended community.
The Festival produces income for over 20 groups that rely on the celebration as their major source of annual fundraising. From upgraded computers to new sports uniforms, buses for field trip outings, repairs, new construction, after school music programs, and more, revenues ultimately reach out to impact the lives of others. Coming together in the name of fun, youths and mentors of all ages work alongside one another, decorate their booths and sell to patrons in their “fun” fundraising quest.
Official Non-Profit Benefactors
20th Century Onyx Club, Black American Political Association of California, Inc. (BAPAC) Boy Scouts of America, Buena High School Music Association, Camarillo Kiwanis Club, Camarillo Moose Lodge, Camarillo Roadrunner Youth Football Inc., Channel Islands High School Athletics, Channel Islands High School Squads, City Corp Oxnard, Community Bible Mission, Eagles Soccer Club, Girl Scouts of Oxnard, Hueneme Rhino’s Youth Football, National Latinos Peace Officers Association, Our Lady of Guadalupe School, Oxnard Ambassadors, Oxnard Buddhist Temple, Oxnard High School Band Boosters, Oxnard Police Activities League, Oxnard Police Explorers Post 9286, Oxnard Police Reserves, Oxnard United S.C., Oxnard Waves Youth Soccer U16, Pacifica Triton Athletic Booster Club, Pacific Camp Family Resource, Inc., Rio Mesa High School Athletic Boosters, Rotary Club of Oxnard, Rotary Club of Oxnard Sunrise, The Salvation Army, Santa Clara High School Athletics, Santa Clara High School Girls Basketball Team, Soroptimists International of Oxnard, Students Securing and Achieving their Future through Education (SSAFE), TRI-GLAD, Trinity Baptist Church, United Way of Ventura County, Ventura County Chapter Blacks in Government (BIG), Ventura County Chapter Parents Of Murdered Children, Inc. (VCPOMC) Ventura High School Wrestling Booster Club, Viking Pride Foundation.
The Berry Best Community Connection Booth
Co-Presented by KTLA and The Collection at RiverPark
Festival weekend, stop by and discover how benefiting others is the sweetest way the California Strawberry Festival serves the community. Conveniently located with displays, special appearances, and chances to win prizes on the interactive prize wheel, you can find out the many benefits that come from giving back.
Scholarships Keep the Legacy Alive
With a field of possibilities the California Strawberry Festival remains ever true to the mission of its founders – helping others.
Rewarding academic excellence through education, the Festival provides future generations the opportunity to grow and prosper. As tribute to the late Mayor of Oxnard whose vision helped the Festival in its infancy, the Dr. Kato Scholarship Award grants $6,000 annually to assist in higher education. For over a decade, close to $20,000 has been allocated in memoriam to deserving college bound students.
Collaborating with the California Strawberry Commission to show appreciation to those whose jobs are a vital part of the strawberry industry’s success, the Festival also funds annual scholarships to children of strawberry farm workers. Applicants must have at least one parent who has been employed as a strawberry farm worker for the past two consecutive seasons. Based on merit, these awards have contributed to many successful achievements.
Over the past few decades, over $1.3 million has been awarded for:
• Accredited Trade Schools
• Community Colleges
• Four-Year Universities
Additionally, a $25,000 endowment scholarship at California State University Channel Islands is completely Festival funded, offering another avenue of development for future generations.
Through conscious actions, careful planning, respect and accountability, the Festival reaches out far beyond the spectacle of the weekend celebration to help empower aspiring students to reach their goals. The committee members and staff work year round to maintain the success of the two-day event that is vital to thousands of young adults discovering the best in themselves. Who knows, perhaps someday a scholar will return home to Ventura County with a passion and vision that ultimately is an offshoot of a little strawberry that tastes delicious.
Click to download Dr. Kato Record Request Form
