IEHP awards $15,000 in scholarships to worthy San Bernardino County students

Inland Empire Health Plan (IEHP) provided six IEHP Heart Award scholarships to worthy students during the San Bernardino County Children’s Network’s annual Shine a Light on Child Abuse Breakfast on April 4 in Ontario.

A total of 25 scholarships were given to high school and college-age foster youth, including the six $2,500 IEHP Heart Awards totaling $15,000. Other scholarship amounts varied and were provided by Children’s Fund partner agencies — all intend to support costs associated with higher education like textbook expenses, course materials or housing.

“Students learning a trade or earning a college degree should be able to focus solely on their education instead of worrying about whether they can afford certain expenses,” said Jarrod McNaughton, IEHP’s chief executive officer. “IEHP sees these scholarships as an important investment in the future of our communities and we are grateful to Children’s Fund for partnering with us to make them possible.”

IEHP partnered with Children’s Fund to create the new Heart Award and scholarship, selecting students from varied backgrounds with impactful stories and aspirations.

The IEHP Heart Award recipients included:

• Gideon Baughman of Hesperia
• Kathleen Castellanos of San Bernardino
• Malia Logan of Rancho Cucamonga
• Grayson Ross of Rancho Cucamonga
• Juan Torres formerly of Fontana
• Joey Zamora of San Bernardino

Betty Chambers, director of programs at Children’s Fund, said the scholarships came as a complete surprise to each student selected.

“Our partnership with IEHP sees the value in allowing youth to reach their goal of something better for their future through education,” she said. “We are proud to collaborate with IEHP for this amazing scholarship opportunity.”

Since its founding in 1986, Children’s Fund has served more than 18 million children living in San Bernardino County, many of whom are IEHP members. Both IEHP and Children’s Fund work with their respective community partners to deliver services to residents not routinely available, from food and housing assistance to low or no-cost health insurance.

To learn more about Children’s Fund, go to childrendsfund.org. More about IEHP may be found at iehp.org.

With a mission to heal and inspire the human spirit, Inland Empire Health Plan (IEHP) is one of the top 10 largest Medicaid health plans, the largest not-for-profit Medicare-Medicaid public health plan in the country, and for the third year in a row, certified as A Great Place To Work®. In its 27th year, IEHP supports more than 1.5 million Riverside and San Bernardino County residents enrolled in Medicaid or IEHP DualChoice (those with both Medi-Cal and Medicare). Today, IEHP has a growing network of nearly 6,800 providers and more than 3,000 team members who are fully committed to the vision: We will not rest until our communities enjoy optimal care and vibrant health. To learn more, go to iehp.org.

Since its founding in 1986, Children’s Fund serves the region’s most vulnerable children by funding and equipping agencies and nonprofits serving children with essential services and resources intended to support youth experiencing poverty, abuse and neglect. Today, the nonprofit works collaboratively with more than 50 community partners across San Bernardino County to ensure that brighter futures are built upon a support system that puts children first. To learn more, go to childrensfund.org.