Alumni Council Chair Makes Matching Gift to the Power of 10 Scholarship Fund

To encourage others to support the School’s Power of 10 Scholarship Fund, Sandi Redenbach (BA ’72, Credential ’73) has made a special matching gift of $5,000 to the fund.

Redenbach, who also serves as the School’s Alumni Council chair and serves on the dean’s Board of Advisors, already has established the Student-at-Promise endowed scholarship for teacher credential and MA students, as well as making an estate gift to the School. Her volunteer leadership and generosity to the School is truly inspiring.

Here she shares her thoughts on giving to the Power of 10.

1. Why do you give to the Power of 10 Scholarship Fund?

I was honored to serve on the committee that came up with the idea of having a student scholarship initiative as a really meaningful way of commemorating the School’s ten-year anniversary. I love the concept of the Power of 10 because it encourages people to consider giving anything from $10 to 10 x $10 or more. Scholarships are really where my heart is. I am in a constant state of gratitude because I live a rich and wonderful life. I owe a great deal of my success to my education at UC Davis. Giving back to help students at my Alma Mater is one way I have of showing my gratitude. Students need all the financial help we can give them to get through their education. It’s the best investment for my money because I feel I get back ten-fold what I give.

2. What would you say to someone considering a gift to the fund?

Anyone who gives to the fund or to the School, in general, will experience how their generosity can lead to a wonderful feeling that shapes in the heart—that feeling you get when you are generously donating to someone else’s future ability to do good for others.  It goes without saying that when we give, it inspires others to model that same behavior in the future.  When you have a sense of community, a sense that we are all inextricably bound together in this world, then giving becomes a standard. You then know you are truly making a difference in promoting good and diminishing evil in this world.

3. What are your hopes and aspirations for what we can accomplish with this fund?

I personally hope that we can attract more students of color and more at-risk students.  There are so many young people that often need the extra leg up, both socially and financially and being able to enroll and succeed in a program at the School of Education can serve as a catalyst for them to imagine their lives differently and then as educators to improve the lives of others.