Courtesy of 8ballfoundation.com
A journalist who was robbed at gunpoint, a cameraman who was left in debt from his wife’s hospital bills, a student struggling to pay tuition: these are all people who have been aided by the 8Ball Welfare Foundation.
The 8Ball Welfare Foundation is an organization that focuses on providing grants to journalists and journalism students that are strapped for cash. Started in 1954 as a branch of the L.A. Press Club, the non-profit foundation has donated hundreds of thousands of dollars to needy news people.
When the original Los Angeles Daily News went out of print, dozens of journalists were put out of work. In order to assist these journalists through this difficult period, the L.A. Press Club created the 8Ball Welfare Foundation.
Vice Chairman of the foundation, Peter Noyes, 81, said, “The 8Ball Foundation has two missions. One is to help out news people who were disenfranchised. The second is to help students.” By the end of the year, the foundation is set to award around $15,000 in student grants.
According to 8Ball Foundation website, early in its history, the foundation received funding from celebrities such as Marilyn Monroe, Frank Sinatra, and Lucille Ball. Today, the organization still operates entirely through donations. “The need [for the loans] is higher than ever, but private parties helped this year’s economic climate,” said Noyes, claiming that they received a donation of $50,000 earlier this year.
“Many of us [students] are unemployed or underemployed and dirt poor,” said Luis Rivas, journalism major at Los Angeles City College. Struggling to make ends meet after he and his parents lost their respective jobs, Rivas applied for many scholarships, successfully landing an 8Ball Foundation grant. “Every hardworking journalist major should apply for the grant,” Rivas added. “The scholarship enabled me to eat and pay rent.”
The foundation decides on its recipients based on their financial need and situation. The board members contact each other and vote on whether or not the grant application should be selected. In the case of the journalism school grants, they often let the professors decide whether or not the applicant should be awarded. While the organization has no current headquarters, the Board of Directors communicates via email and telephone.
Julian Cruz
Staff Writer
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