The Power of Perpetuity
One of the easiest ways to make a lasting impact on the future of San Marino Schools is to create an endowment that provides long-term funding to meet a specific need. The positive impact of a donor’s generosity is magnified indefinitely through continued growth and creates a legacy of philanthropy that can benefit many subsequent generations.
Our San Marino High School community is fortunate to have two such endowments, created by donors who want to support current and future Titans in perpetuity. Their generosity makes a significant annual impact on both graduating seniors and San Marino High School at large.
To learn more about Endowments, contact jchuang@smsf.org.
The Leslie Noelle Lienjun Mar Memorial Scholarship
The recipients in the Class of 2025 were Alyssa Lim, Justin Lin, Matias Osegueda, and Valeri Zhu. They represent an accomplished array of activities at San Marino High School including Marching Band, cheer, choir, National Charity League, Rotary Interact, Robotics, ASB, Science Olympiad and Dance Company. Each of them received a $1000 scholarship for college and are attending esteemed universities such as UCLA and University of Toronto. To date, the Leslie Mar Scholarship has granted $26,000 to graduating seniors since 2019.
The Leslie Mar Scholarship was established in 2018 by Patricia and Harry Mar of San Marino who wanted to honor the legacy of their daughter Leslie Mar, an accomplished young woman and SMHS graduate of 2013, who tragically lost her life in a hiking accident. Leslie’s life and achievements are memorialized each year by awarding scholarships to graduating seniors of SMHS who demonstrate well-rounded excellence in Academics, Athletics, and the Arts.
The Richard and Eric Dong Endowment Fund
Established in 2017 by Richard (SMHS Class of 2019) and Eric (SMHS Class of 2020) Dong, the Richard and Eric Dong Endowment provides an opportunity for SMHS teachers, athletic teams, clubs, and organizations to have access to supplemental funding to support their activities and grow the excellence for which San Marino High School is known. Grants are funded in different categories to distribute financial support to multiple areas of campus life. Last year, the endowment was able to support the refurbishment of the Staff Lounge, which was celebrated with a ribbon-cutting ceremony in August, 2024.
This year’s grants were given to the Titan Varsity/JV Football Team, Girls Volleyball Team, Girls Soccer Team, Girls Basketball Team, SMHS Speech & Debate Team, Titanium Robotics, SMHS Interact Rotary Club, and scholarships for student leaders to attend the International Leadership Foundation Student Workshop in September. To date, the Richard and Eric Dong Endowment has granted $19,425.55 to benefit San Marino High School.
Create Your Legacy
Restricted endowments are the preferred philanthropic vehicle for creating ongoing, focused benefit to San Marino Schools. Donors interested in establishing an endowment with the San Marino Schools Foundation should contact Jennifer Chuang or Kathryn Oliveros at the Foundation office to discuss ways that the Foundation can help support your long-term vision for San Marino Schools.
How an Endowment Fund Works
