IECA Foundation Names Katz Award Honorees

Online, December 20, 2010 (Newswire.com) - IECA Foundation Names Katz Award Honorees

Fairfax, VA - The Independent Educational Consultants Association Foundation awarded the Irvin Katz Memorial Award to three IECA members at a luncheon in Cincinnati on November 4, 2010. The honorees are Bob Casanova (CA), Elizabeth Stone (CA) and Holly Treat (CT). The Irvin Katz Memorial Award was established in 2006 by the family of the consultant who donated much of his time to his community and his profession. The Katz family created the award to honor those members of IECA who make extraordinary voluntary contributions of their time and talents to organizations in their community that benefit children. A plaque was presented to each honoree and a $2,000 award was given to a non-profit educational program of their choice.

BOB CASANOVA is President of Social Advocates for Youth (SAY) in Santa Rosa, California. SAY was founded by community leaders and youth advocates who were concerned about the lack of child abuse prevention and intervention services for children and adolescents in Sonoma County. Today, SAY serves at-risk children, youth and families up through age 25 many of whom are students who are struggling to overcome psychological, social, cultural and environmental barriers. SAY counselors offer prevention programs that address the suffering caused by all manners of physical and emotional abuse. Of the 6,000 students served by SAY in 2009, over 90 percent were having difficulties in school.

Three years ago, ELIZABETH STONE created and still runs The Summer Scholars Program for public high school students in San Mateo. The object of the program is to provide a wide range of summer opportunities for deserving students and to provide financial assistance. Among the programs in which students participated this year were a science internship at Johns Hopkins, study of sea turtles in Costa Rica, the development of an African dance performance and working with children in Panama with AMIGOS. Elizabeth organized the effort, brought a myriad of representatives to campus and raised funds for financial aid. The Katz grant will provide scholarships for four students next summer.

Since 2007, HOLLY TREAT has worked pro bono with students from the Deep Creek Middle School in Eleuthera in the Bahamas to assist in their placement in top boarding schools in the United States. Through the Cape Eleuthera Foundation, students are identified, chosen, guided through the application and enrollment process by Holly and provided with financial aid by the boarding schools. Currently, sixteen students are enrolled at eleven boarding schools. The Katz grant to the Cape Eleuthera Foundation is used to defray the students' expenses.

The IECA Foundation is the charitable arm of the Independent Educational Consultants Association, the nation's leading professional organization for independent educational consultants working in private practice. The IECA Foundation is dedicated to identifying and supporting programs with significant positive impact on students and their educational environments, especially those helping students make sound educational choices.

CONTACT:
Pat Caffrey
IECA Foundation Administrator
703-890-0135
pat@iecafoundation.org
www.IECAFoundation.org