Victorville, Ca.  For the fourth year, The Don Ferrarese Charitable Foundation awarded nine (9) $4,000 scholarships to Victor Valley students, recognizing them for their charitable and volunteer service.  At the annual awards luncheon, sponsored by Chris Espinoza of Outback Steakhouse, one student from each of the ten local high schools were formally acknowledged by Don Ferrarese for their outstanding community involvement and dedication to the quality of life.   Each year, Outback Steakhouse sponsors the luncheon for the recipients, their parents as well as the school principals and counselors.   Outback generously provided eighty-five lunches to those attending Saturday’s event. “Growing up in the Bay area, it was common for neighbors to help those in need.  That’s just the way it was;  we were like extended family and neighbors accepted the fact that we helped one another” said Don Ferrarese.  “So it is very inspiring to see so many young men and women take on this role of helping others in need”, Ferrarese continued.  When asked about his volunteering efforts and what inspires him, Paul Song, the Apple Valley High School recipient said “I get as much or more from helping others, than they get from my help”.   “This year’s applicants represented over thirty thousand hours of volunteer and charitable service.  An astonishing fact when you consider the attention offered to what is wrong with our youth and educational system”  Ferrarese offered to the parents and school personnel.  “These kids offer me great confidence in our future and in the leadership capabilities of our youth”.  When asked what the scholarships meant to them as parents, the common response was that the parents appreciated an outside organization validating what they as parents have spent a lifetime teaching their kids.  This years’ recipients are:  Paul Song, Apple Valley HS: Anne-Shirley Harpole, Barstow HS: Devin Rechtin, Granite Hills HS; Gavin Santos Hesperia, HS: Janice Schindler, Lucerne Valley HS: Kelly Slone, Lewis Center for Academic Excellence; Casey O’Neil Serrano HS, Elizabeth Garcia Silverado HS: Naomi Quezada, Sultana HS and Lucia Jeong, Victor Valley HS.   Since 2005, the Don Ferrarese Charitable Foundation has awarded thirty-eight (38) $4,000 scholarships to college bound Victor Valley students.  The Foundation is privately funded by local businessmen.  You can learn more about the foundation by visiting it’s web site at www.don-frse.com