Fund: Vincenzo Jim Totaro and E. Dollie Totaro Wolverton Scholarships for First-Generation Students End Fd Department: Alumni Engagement Dept D01187 Purpose: Undergraduate Student Support Background: UCR Alumni Association Board of Directors and Pioneer Class member E. Dollie Totaro '57 will establish the Vincenzo Jim Totaro and E. Dollie Totaro Wolverton Scholarships for First-Generation Students Endowed Fund in recognition of sacrifices made by her brother, Jim, and to support first-generation students through the unique challenges they face. Dollie's brother, Jim, the first child of Carmela Coscione and Giuseppe Totaro, was born in Guardia Piemontese, Italy, in 1927. At nine months, he and his mother took an 18-day voyage to Ellis Island and then Detroit, where his father had prepared a home for them. Jim attended parochial school until his early teenage years when, as the eldest of five, he stopped attending school to help support the family. Jim held various jobs, including wokring at corner bakery assembling pie boxes, stocking shelves at the local market, delivering dry cleaning, serving 5 cent hamburgers at The White Tower, and working a paper route, giving his weekly earnings of $4.00 to his parents in support of the family. At 16 years old, he became a busyboy at the Detroit Statler Hotel and was soon promoted to lead bellhop. Jim continued to work hard throughout his life, from working in the family restaurant to eventually establishing his own business- Jim's Home Furnishings. In the community, he was a dedicated activist on behalf of autistic and blind youth and adults. Although Jim did not attend college, through his support and help of her parents, Dollie was the first in her family to attend university and establish a career of public service dedicated to making it possible for others to do the same. After graduating from UCR, Dollie worked as an elementary school teacher and, after earning her master's degree, a school administrator. In the Spring of 1965, she was designated as an early childhood leader to prepare classroom teams throughout Riverside County to implement Project Head Start- the cornerstone of President Lyndon Johnson's anti-pverty legislation. Based on his success, she went to serve as Riverside County's Head Start Director until 1968. For the next two years, she worked in the California Department of Education in Sacramento as an early childhood specialist. In 1970, Dollie became a federal employee in Washington DC, where she served for 36 years, retiring in 2006 as Chief of Education for the Head Start Bureau, Department of Health and Human Services. This fund continues her legacy of supporting education while paying homage to the contributions of her older brother, Jim, who passed away in June 2021 at the age of 93. Fund Purpose: This fund shall be used to provide student support of first-generation students at UC Riverside with annual awards until the completion of their degree, for up to four years for freshman recipients, and two years for community college transfer student recipients. Criteria and Selection Process: Applicants must meet the following criteria: 1. Be a current undergraduate student at UCR in good standing or an incoming freshman or an incoming commmunity college transfer student. 2. Be the first in their family to attend college (first-generation student) 3. Demonstrate financial need Applicants must fill out an application administered by the Office of Alumni Engagement. Scholarship applications will be reviewed, and recipients will be selected by the UCR Alumni Association Scholarship Committee. Scholarship recipients who continue to meet requirements will continue to receive annual awards until the completion of their undergraduate degree, up to four years for freshman recipients, and two years for recipients who have transferred from a community college. In years when there is no candidate who meets the criteria, awards will be held until the following year. EFF. 10/31/2022 Comverted from endowment intent fund #6I0135 to a true endowment. Request for Information: Request Scholarship Information