San Marino Schools Foundation

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San Marino Schools Foundation

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Empowering public education excellence in San Marino Unified School District.

Donations bridge the gap between what the state provides and what an excellent education actually costs.

11/10/2026

A Feast of Togetherness, and it lived up to the name. 🥢✨

Thank you to for a beautiful evening at this year’s MAF Gala at . Great food, great company, and a room full of people who show up for San Marino year after year.

CCSM’s support for schools and for our whole community is a big part of what makes this town special. We were proud to celebrate with you at Table 51.

感謝聖馬利諾華人協會的熱情款待，以及對我們學校和社區的支持！

Give what works for your family. Participation matters more than the amount.
https://www.smsf.org/donate/donate.html

11/08/2026

Dessert for a good cause! 🥥

Join us Tuesday, November 17 at MeloMelo Coconut Dessert in San Gabriel. Half of every purchase goes to the San Marino Schools Foundation, supporting Academics, Arts, Athletics, and Activities at Carver, Valentine, Huntington, and San Marino High School.

📍 MeloMelo San Gabriel, 529 E Valley Blvd
🕚 11:00 a.m. to 10:00 p.m.

One important step: show this flyer at checkout, printed or on your phone, so your order counts toward the fundraiser. Screenshot it now so it’s ready. Not valid with other offers.

Come for lunch, after practice, or as a late-night treat. Bring friends. Every order adds up.

Please share this post online, but don’t hand out flyers at the store that day. That can void the donation.

Give what works for your family. Participation matters more than the amount.
Donate: https://www.smsf.org/donate/donate.html

11/06/2026

“Coach always believed in you.” That’s how one former player remembered him in the Tribune.

For decades, Scott Cameron taught physics at San Marino High School and coached Titans in basketball, baseball, and volleyball. He chaired the Science Department, was honored as a Master Teacher, and built a boys’ volleyball program that owned the Rio Hondo League through the 1990s. Students remember a gentleman and a natural storyteller who made a hard subject make sense.

His legacy is still at SMHS, where his son David teaches chemistry today.

Coach Cameron passed away on September 8 at age 80. The community is invited to celebrate his life tomorrow, Saturday, November 7, at 10:30 a.m. in the SMHS Big Gym.

In lieu of flowers, his family asked that gifts be made to the San Marino Schools Foundation in his memory, supporting SMHS boys’ and girls’ volleyball and basketball.

Thank you to the Cameron family for sharing him with San Marino. 💙

11/05/2026

Meet Derek Wang, a San Marino High School senior and one of our SMSF student interns.

A fun fact most people wouldn’t guess: Derek’s first language is Mandarin, not English.

As an intern, he helps with event planning and logistics. His favorite part is collecting feedback after each event, so every event that follows works better for families. His proudest moment was the Lunar New Year booth at Lacey Park. Kids made decorations, families had a great time, and Derek got to see the team’s work come to life.

Of the four A’s (Academics, Arts, Athletics, and Activities), academics stands out most to him. One class that stuck with him is Ms. Park’s AP Chemistry, which he calls “arguably the hardest class on campus.”

Asked to describe his school in one word, Derek chose “transformative.” Over his years at SMHS, he went from a freshman who didn’t feel ready to speak in public to a student who works well on a team and gives back to his community.

He hopes people notice the work he does for his community. Derek, we noticed. Thank you.

Give what works for your family. Participation matters more than the amount.
Donate: https://www.smsf.org/donate/donate.html

11/04/2026

Candy, pom-poms, and a whole lot of blue. 💙

Our Foundation crew rolled down Huntington Drive in Friday’s San Marino High School Homecoming Parade, tossing treats to the kids along the route and cheering on our Titans.

Thank you to every family who lined the street, from our youngest elementary fans to the SMHS students who made the day so much fun. One community, four schools, all showing up for each other.

Give what works for your family. Participation matters more than the amount.
Invest: https://www.smsf.org/donate/donate.html

11/01/2026

Some people leave a mark on everyone they meet. Leslie Mar was one of them.

Leslie, SMHS Class of 2013, embraced all that San Marino High had to offer, filling her years with music, theater, cheer, volleyball and student leadership, and leaving her mark on the school community in so many ways.

After Leslie left us too early, the family and friends who loved her gave about $70,000 in her memory. The first plan was to give it to the high school as two or three scholarships a year, until the money ran out.

Instead, the Mar family chose to endow it with the Foundation, so Leslie's scholarship could last for generations.

Every year, the Leslie Mar Memorial Scholarship honors graduating seniors who, like Leslie, have shown leadership across campus life. So far it has sent $30,000 to 33 seniors, paid straight to their colleges. The fund holds more today than when it started, and it now awards four scholarships every year.

That's the power of an endowment. Their generosity, invested, keeps Leslie's name in the halls and keeps opening doors for students she never knew, who have a stronger future because of her. Learn how endowments work at the Foundation: https://www.smsf.org/endowments.html

Give what works for your family. Participation matters more than the amount.
Donate: https://www.smsf.org/donate/donate.html

10/29/2026

Every January, Jack Nicklaus, winner of 18 major championships, went back to his coach and asked the same three questions.

How do I stand? How do I hold the club? How do I swing?

The best in the game started every season with the basics.

That's how SMSF trustee Alex Watlington opened our student intern leadership meeting. Back to the fundamentals: why the Foundation exists, how it works, how to get involved, and what fundraising really is.

Alex spends his weeks mentoring college students at USC, and our interns got that same mentorship up close. That's the heart of the intern program: San Marino High School students learning how a real organization runs, side by side with people who care about their growth.

Thank you, Alex, for investing in our students. ⛳

Give what works for your family. Participation matters more than the amount.
Donate: https://www.smsf.org/donate/donate.html

10/27/2026

Meet Jason Han.

He grew up in public schools, and nobody ever asked his parents to donate. So when San Marino asked his family to give, his first question was simple: why?

Jason is a business owner, a physical therapist, and spent more than ten years in pro sports, most recently as head of rehab for the Los Angeles Football Club. He and his wife, Dr. Kelli, are an interdistrict family. Their daughter Mia is in fourth grade and their son Maverick is in first.

As an entrepreneur, Jason wanted the numbers to make sense before he gave. So he dove in. What he found: a school district runs a lot like a business. The state sets most of the revenue, and its formula wasn’t built for a district that operates at San Marino’s level. The community and the Foundation help cover the difference, so San Marino schools can keep their tradition of excellence and keep striving to be even better. As Jason puts it: “We’re not just donating. We’re investing.”

But for Jason, it’s not just the numbers. He spent seven years on the U.S. National Taekwondo Team, and his parents gave their time, their money, and a lot of sacrifice to support his dreams. Now San Marino schools are his kids’ world, and he wants to show up for it the same way.

“I give to this Foundation because one day, Mia and Maverick are going to look back and remember that their mom and dad showed up. Just like my parents showed up for me.”

Thank you, Jason.

Give what works for your family. Participation matters more than the amount.

Invest: https://www.smsf.org/donate/donate.html

10/22/2026

“If you’re not uncomfortable, you’re probably not growing.”

Meet Jennifer Chuang, our Programs Administrator and the leader of our Student-Leader Internship Program.

Jenn has spent her career helping young people grow. She has owned and directed her own preschool for two decades, taught master’s-level education courses at Cal State LA, advocated for universal preschool, and served on the district’s Academic Advisory Committee. She’s also a San Marino parent whose own children came through our schools.

In this clip, she challenges our interns to sign up for the things that scare them a little. She promises them a safe place to stretch, with coaching and support even when things don’t go perfectly. She also asks them to speak up. With a small staff and an all-volunteer board, their questions and ideas make the Foundation better.

As Jenn put it, “We wouldn’t even have this program if we didn’t value what you could bring to the table.”

Thank you, Jenn, for growing great students.

Give what works for your family. Participation matters more than the amount.
Donate: https://www.smsf.org/donate/donate.html

10/20/2026

Quick question: could you explain what an endowment is?

If not, you're in good company. It's one of the most powerful ways to support our schools, and one of the least understood. So here's the simple version.

Most gifts are like a basket of fruit. They're shared right away, and they make this school year possible. That's what annual giving does, and it matters.

An endowment is the tree. The gift is invested and kept, not spent. Each year, a portion is granted to the purpose the donor chose, like scholarships, teams or programs. The rest stays invested so it can keep growing for the students who come next.

Plant once. Harvest every year.

San Marino already has two of these trees: one planted in a daughter's memory, and one planted by two students who loved their school. See how endowments work at the Foundation: https://www.smsf.org/endowments.html

Give what works for your family. Participation matters more than the amount.
Donate: https://www.smsf.org/donate/donate.html

Address

1665 West Drive
San Marino, CA
91108

Website

https://www.smsf.org/

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