Community Engagement
Community is the Foundation at Making Waves
Our community development and social impact efforts advance our priorities in service of:
- our vision for educational equity and postsecondary success;
- our belief that all students deserve educational opportunity;
- our work to strengthen Making Waves Academy students’ pathway to high school graduation and postsecondary opportunities; and
- our goal to significantly expand our joint organizational impact by increasing the college graduation rate for students in need across Contra Costa County and beyond.
As we work to implement our strategic plan that calls for an expansion of college success services to more students across Contra Costa County, California, we are focused on further developing our partnerships with schools, districts, and county offices of education, as well as non-profit organizations and corporations to secure funding to support historically underrepresented and underserved youth working to achieve their dreams.
Making Waves Foundation invites corporations to support our college success program, known as CAP, through annual contributions, event sponsorships, or through the establishment of a named scholarship.
For more information on our plans to partner and expand, please contact Vice President of Partnerships Dr. Carey Hawkins Ash at cash@making-waves.org.
To give in support of these efforts, please contact our development team at development@making-waves.org for more information.
College Success Pilot with Pittsburg High School
In 2020, Making Waves Foundation committed $2 million to Pittsburg High School in Pittsburg, California to increase educational opportunities for students in need.
We launched the first phase of this programming in December 2020 in partnership with Pittsburg Unified School District, with two main components:
- providing and facilitating a series of college-readiness workshops; and
- providing an application process to admit up to 32 Pittsburg High School seniors to receive scholarships and one-on-one college coaching during the 2021-22 academic year.
Our team has been working closely with Pittsburg High School’s college counselors, principal, and others to design this initial program. The effort aims to help socioeconomically disadvantaged youth be prepared to enroll in college and ultimately graduate in a timely manner with little to no debt.
Our Leadership
Carey Hawkins Ash, JD, PhD
