DWSOC Scholarship Fund Donations

Thank you for visiting our DWSOC Scholarship Fund Donation Page.

The Democratic Women of South Orange County remains committed to supporting our local Capistrano Unified School District graduating high school seniors and is now in its sixth year of our Senior High School Student Scholarship Program. Over the past five years of 2018 to 2022, DWSOC has received Applications from 65 students and has awarded 34 Scholarships to very deserving students.

DWSOC offers scholarship opportunities to qualified graduating senior students at Dana Hills, San Clemente and San Juan Hills High School.  Awards are made at a minimum of three (3) scholarships of up to $1,000.  For each of the past five years, we have awarded multiple scholarships at each of the High Schools and presented to students at each of the respective school’s Senior Awards Night in May.

In addition to monetary awards given to students at these in-person Scholarship Awards Ceremonies, DWSOC has also gifted our Award Recipients various books to demonstrate our appreciation of their accomplishments.  These have included Poet Laureate Amanda Gorman’s The Hill We Climb:  An Inaugural Poem for the Country and former UCI Law School Dean Erwin Chemerinsky’s book We the People:  A Progressive Reading of the Constitution for the Twenty-First Century.

Scholarship Awards are based on how well the senior student demonstrates leadership, community involvement and concern for Democratic issues. A required Essay and a Recommendation Letter are also major components of our decision-making process in awarding scholarships. In each year of our Scholarship Award Program, the essays written by our applicants have all been thoughtful and have provided us insights into their excellent critical thinking skills.  The recommendations provided to us for each student are a testament to the students’ high ethical standards, good communication skills, leadership qualities and sincerest concerns about Democratic issues that have led their community involvement.

For 2023, our Essay Question selections are all centered on DWSOC’s theme of Defending Democracy and our Club’s focus on defending Democracy as it stands up for Public Education at the local, state, and national level. Please note the following Essay Question options that our committee has developed to test each applicant’s grasp of Democratic issues:
  1. Democracy around the world, and in the United States, appears to be under attack. What can we as citizens do to defend democracy?
  2. Civil-rights leader and Democratic Member of Congress John Lewis said, "When you see something that is not right, not fair, not just, you have to speak up. You have to say something; you have to do something." What are you doing to make your community and world more right, fair, and just?
  3. What problems and challenges in our current political system are hindering our democratic ideals? Choose one issue and share how you think our leaders should work to solve this problem.

Over the past five years, the DWSOC Scholarship Committee and Executive Board have placed an importance on Scholarships as both a recognition of young Democrats as well as an outreach to the community of our Club.  Our Awardees have been well respected leaders in their school community and outstanding students to have gone on to represent us well in their college years and careers.  DWSOC has also expanded its membership through the Scholarship Program as we are now recognized in the Community as active, informed, and respected representatives of the Democratic Party of Orange County.

To continue these outreach and youth development efforts, we need to raise funds each year separate from our DWSOC General Fund that goes to supporting candidates.  Recognizing such, our DWSOC Scholarship Fund was initially established through the generous donations of our founding patrons and our many members throughout South Orange County who are completely dedicated to supporting our local students in the Capistrano Unified School District.

The generosity of our Scholarship Founding Patrons has made it possible to continue our Scholarship Awards Program, and in each year these patrons have matched donations made by our members.  Beginning with this year we are establishing a separate Scholarships Donation Page where members can make donations at any time of the year.  

Additionally, we have given our members and friends the opportunity to make either a one-time annual donation or make a monthly donation.  Please click on our Act Blue Scholarship Donation link below to make your donation:

We have always viewed this Scholarship Program as an important way to promote lasting change in our community by supporting, fostering, and mentoring young Democrats.  We strongly believe that by encouraging and recognizing these young high school Democrats, we are promoting and protecting Democratic ideals in our county and in the world – now and into the future.

On behalf of the Scholarship Committee of DWSOC, we thank you for joining us in these very important efforts. Your support of the Scholarship Fund in any way that you can is truly appreciated!

Should you have any questions or need any additional information on DWSOC Scholarships, please email us at [email protected].