Semillas de Esperanza Scholarship Fund 
Creating Opportunities, Celebrating Diversity,
& Building Relationships
Imagine waking up before sunrise to work in a warehouse or berry fields to help your family financially, before the school day begins. Imagine the isolation of a classroom where your ability to learn and make friends is limited because you don’t know the language. Imagine feeling your parent’s frustrations with seasonal work and limited employment options.
Your whole family has worked hard and sacrificed to provide for a better life. You are trying your hardest to build opportunities for yourself, and you set your sights on earning a college degree.
 
SCF donors and founders of the Semillas de Esperanza Scholarship, Howard and Lynn Behar, understand the challenges and barriers undocumented students face. Howard was the founding President of Starbucks International and Lynn has been an oncology social worker for over 30 years with an MSW and PhD from the University of Washington. Their goal is to provide scholarship support to dedicated and determined undocumented students from Skagit County, alongside a similar program in Walla Walla, as an opportunity to provide more equitable access to higher education.
 
The Behar’s idea was to create the Semillas de Esperanza Scholarship to “fill the gap” of unfunded tuition and to follow each student through all their years of higher education. Every summer since 2018, they help select a new cohort of highly motivated undocumented* (includes DACA) students from any Skagit County high school for the multi-year program. The students’ scholarship amount every year is determined by need and ability. CLICK HERE TO READ MORE...