Berkeley, CA – (December 17, 2007) – As the cost of attending college rises and state funding cuts continue, many students from low-income communities are missing out on a higher education. Through The Achievement Award Program (TAAP), the California Alumni Association (CAA) is addressing the financial needs of those students who might not otherwise attend college.

Created to bring the best and brightest undergraduates to Cal, TAAP is a need-based scholarship that provides funding and support services to high-achieving students from low-income communities. Typical TAAP students overcome major personal obstacles to make it to Cal. The funding they receive not only pays for tuition and other college expenses; it puts TAAP students on a trajectory towards success.

"TAAP allows me to breathe…I don't have to worry about rent, I have a new laptop…I am happy," says third-year student Salvador Limon, who grew up in the barrio of East Los Angeles. Statistically, Limon was not destined to leave his city limits. Today, he is a junior at Cal double majoring in Political Science and Latin American Studies. He co-chairs Cal's Latino Pre-Law Society and will study abroad at the University of Mexico City this spring. Limon is one of the 95 students who received TAAP funding this academic year.

Many TAAP students come from low-income communities with an average annual family income of $20,500. Of the 220 Cal students who received TAAP funding in the past 10 years, 71% are first generation college students and 59% are underrepresented minorities. CAA distributes more than $500,000 annually to TAAP students, who each receive up to $6,000 per academic year and a new laptop. Make a gift to TAAP online or call 510-643-2664.

Founded in 1872, the California Alumni Association a non-profit corporation, self-funded and independent of the University of California. As one of the largest dues-paying associations of alumni in the world, CAA is more than 95,000 members strong. The CAA's mission is to serve the community of Cal alumni and students by providing lifelong connections to each other and to the University of California, Berkeley.