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Passing the Torch

Supporting Tomorrow's Leaders

William Goldman author Chris Black author Ruth Goldman author

Format:Paperback

Publisher:University Press of America

Published:22nd Jun '18

Should be back in stock very soon

Passing the Torch cover

Passing the Torch describes the remarkable achievements of public university students from marginalized populations who transcend oppression and poverty to become powerful leaders for social justice. Ruth and Bill Goldman drew upon their expertise in mental health and higher education to launch a scholarship program in the San Francisco Bay Area which provides assistance to people of color, recent immigrants and others from marginalized populations, in order to help them become leaders for social change. In addition to tuition assistance, they offer a package of wrap around benefits to replicate the support higher income students receive from their families. To date, every single participant graduated from college and more than seventy percent earned graduate degrees from prestigious universities. Ruth Goldman’s personal story as a Holocaust survivor and Bill’s as the grandson of Jewish refugees who fled discrimination inform the program and draw a parallel to the plight of modern day refugees and the disenfranchised seeking opportunity in the United States today. Passing the Torch shows how the New Leader Scholars overcome poverty and discrimination in order to acquire an education while sustaining their idealism as they strive to achieve greater equity and justice for all.

What Ruth and Bill Goldman have created struck a very personal cord with me. As the child of immigrants who worked full time jobs during the day and an additional part time job cleaning an office building at night, it was thanks to the generosity of people like Ruth and Bill that I was able to afford the cost of college and law school. Like Angel, I often accompanied my parents when they went to their night job as office cleaners because they had no one to leave me with. A combination of scholarship support, modest family savings and a good amount of loan debt got me through Florida State University and Georgetown Law School. Each time I received any kind of scholarship support I called my parents and asked if that meant they could cut back on their overtime, or if my mother could finally stop working on Saturdays. As the book notes, the scholarship support Ruth and Bill are providing goes far beyond the direct impact on the student. Its ripple effect touches every member of the family, making the entire unit more resilient.  Ruth and Bill's expectations for these scholars is also worth highlighting. By instilling a sense of duty to give back in these scholars, they are ensuring that this endowment stretches far beyond what the dollars themselves acquire. They are extending the impact into communities across our country where the horizon for young people often does not stretch beyond their block. Deploying scholars into their neighborhoods with a clear mandate to inspire others like them to imagine a limitless horizon, they are doubling down on the power of their philanthropy and putting us all on a path to a more just society. -- Javier Alberto Soto, CEO of the Miami Foundation

ISBN: 9780761870319

Dimensions: 230mm x 150mm x 15mm

Weight: 399g

240 pages