The South Lake Tahoe Cabinet of the El Dorado Community Foundation is entrusted each year to choose the recipients for grants from the South Lake Tahoe Endowment at the Foundation. This Endowment is made up of the interest from the Joan Rochelle Fund and the South Lake Tahoe Area Fund at the Foundation. It’s a tough job to choose from so many applicants, but also one of the most rewarding when it comes time to hold their awards presentation and when they receive the wonderful “thank you” notes from the recipients.

The photo above depicts the grand time that was had by the fourth graders of Tahoe Valley Elementary. The grant they received from the Foundation allowed them to take a two-day trip to Sutter’s Fort in Sacramento, reliving California history by dressing in costume and assuming the roles of real live pioneers. In a note from Kai Poletti, aka James Marshall, we learned that he “loved everything there” and since it was his birthday, it made it even more memorable. Julissa Chavez, aka Lovina Graves, survivor of the Donner Party, says, “Thank you for making Sutter’s Fort happen for us. You rock!”. What fun to read notes from the likes of General Mariano Guadalupe Vallejo, John C. Fremont and John Sutter.

The children are obviously thriving and it is all made possible through the generosity of our donors.