SAN BERNARDINO, Calif. - The San Manuel Band of Mission Indians has donated $200,000 to the Bernardino Valley College Foundation to help fund the 2010 – 2011 Valley-Bound Commitment.

The Valley-Bound Commitment program provides a free college education to eligible high school students from the district’s feeder high schools, including the cost of textbooks, parking, student fees and more.

There are currently 89 students participating in the Valley-Bound Commitment program, which is in its second year. This is an increase of 53 students from the first year and was accomplished with a $150,000 donation from San Manuel last year. The goal for 2010 – 2011 is to fund 150 students for this unique program.

In addition to providing access to higher education, the program is designed to ensure student success:

• Students and their parents are asked to attend an orientation session to cover expectations.
• Students attend classes as a cohort, providing a built-in support system.
  
• Students attend career fairs or make college visits to focus on their future.
  
• Students complete development courses to ensure seamless transition into college.
  
• Students perform community service of 25 hours over two semesters.
  

“We are so thankful for the support of San Manuel for Valley-Bound Commitment,” said Dr. Debra Daniels, president of San Bernardino Valley College. “Increasing the college-going rate in our region is one of our goals and Valley-Bound helps us achieve that goal.”

The tribe has chosen to partner with groups and organizations that positively impact the greater community, including groups that specialize in health care, education, social services, Native American education and those that work with neighborhoods to enhance the quality of life.

“Now more than ever we know there are greater demands on nonprofits to provide services,” said James Ramos, San Manuel chairman. “Despite the current economic downturn we hope our support will motivate others to get involved as well.”

San Manuel has built a reputation for its generous ethic of giving to worthy causes within Indian country and to its neighboring communities. It has contributed millions of dollars over the years from its successful gaming operation.

The band contributed $500,000 last December to the Second Harvest Food Bank, the largest donation the food bank has received. San Manuel has donated more than $700,000 to the food bank.

Last October, San Manuel gave a gift of $350,000 to Priscilla’s Helping Hands, a community outreach program that addresses the immediate need of families for food, clothing and shelter, and then works to set the family on a path to self-sufficiency through adult education and social services.

In November, San Manuel gave $100,000 to Noli Indian School, a private alternative middle and high school and California’s first BIA funded grant school. The gift will support the school’s mission to provide a quality education for students from the 20 sovereign Indian nations it serves.

In 2004, San Manuel donated $1 million to a nearby chapter of Habitat for Humanity, and in 2008, the band donated $100,000 to the National Congress of American Indians for the Embassy of Tribal Nations capital campaign.

The San Manuel Band of Serrano Mission Indians is a federally recognized American Indian tribe located near the city of Highland, Calif. The Serrano Indians are the indigenous people of the San Bernardino highlands, passes, valleys and mountains who share a common language and culture.

The San Manuel reservation was established in 1891 and recognized as a sovereign nation with the right of self-government. The reservation is named after Santos Manuel, a great tribal leader, and is located in southern California, in the foothills of the San Bernardino Mountain region, just north of the city of Highland. It consists of just over 800 acres of mostly mountainous land.