The newest organization aimed at helping students is created by Sacramento State alumnus Robert Graham, and is run by students and recent college graduates who are “passionate” about making higher education affordable.

Established in 2009, Dream.Develop.Do aims to fight for affordable and quality higher education for all, regardless of background, ethnicity or socio-economic status, Graham said.

“Dream.Develop.Do is looking to support students from traditionally underrepresented and under-served backgrounds like foster youth, struggling single mothers, AB 540 students who do not qualify for state or federal financial aid, or first- generation students who will be the first in their family to attend college,” Graham said.

According to California Education Code 66010.2, higher education institutions in California are to provide accessible … affordable … and quality education to all citizens … particularly the historically and currently underrepresented populations regardless of race, gender, age, disability, or economic circumstance.

“Students in the state of California are forced to pay for education that slowly continues to deteriorate in terms of course offerings, enrollment, retention rates and quality,” Graham said. “The question is how can the government go back to offering quality education and lower costs?”

Dream.Develop.Do has awarded scholarships to three college students in the Sacramento area since October 2009.

“Dream.Develop.Do believes in providing for the community little by little. We provide $1,000 scholarships every fall and spring (semester),” Graham said. “They may be small scholarships, but the idea is that they make a substantial difference.”

Jordan Mortimer, a Dream.Develop.Do scholarship recipient, said his life has been “extremely” blessed since receiving his scholarship. He said he hopes to attend Sac State or the University of Nevada to pursue a major in social work.

“Receiving the scholarship has made going to school far less stressful,” Mortimer said. “The money has allowed me to focus my energy on actual school work and not the fact that I do not have my school payments covered.”

The scholarship awarding process is decided by a consensus of Dream.Develop.Do.’s board members, composed of college students and recent graduates from colleges in the Sacramento area. The board members not only evaluate each applicant based on financial need, but also look for students who embody what Dream.Develop.Do is all about, Graham said.

“We look for what the applicant is doing with their education, how they plan to implement what they have learned, and how they intend to utilize their education,” Graham said. “We target students who cannot afford to go or return to school, part-time students who work because they cannot afford to go to school full-time, and students who are at risk of dropping out of school due to financial circumstances beyond their control.”

Dream.Develop.Do is able to provide scholarships through fundraising, sponsorships and donations from the Sacramento area.

The organization has collaborated with the Morris League to host a home-run derby fundraiser on Saturday at McAuliffe Field near Sac State. All proceeds will be split evenly between the Morris League and Dream.Develop.Do scholarships.

Graham said he hopes to provide a glimmer of hope to kids and students who are on the verge of giving up because they feel they do not have a chance.

“I almost dropped out of high school. I stopped going to my classes because I felt high school was not for me. My school counselor told me I could be anything if I just applied myself,” he said. “I took tutoring for two and a half years and was actually able to graduate on time. I became something more than just a guy with a 1.4 GPA. I made something of myself.”

Graham graduated last May with a bachelor’s degree in government and is now a graduate student at Sac State.

Laila Barakat can be reached at [email protected].