Foundation
In 1971, together with a handful of friends, Grammy Award-winning artist, Vikki Carr, established a non-profit foundation to publicly promote the talents and accomplishments of Hispanic students in her community, and to personally return the support and encouragement she received from others during her musical career.
To date, the Vikki Carr Scholarship Foundation has awarded over 280 scholarships to well-deserving high school seniors pursuing a college education. Initially, the scholarships were limited to California students but upon Ms. Carr’s marriage to Dr. Pedro De Leon, of San Antonio, the Foundation, in 1995, added Texas students of Mexican-American decent to the list of eligible candidates.
Past scholarship recipients have attended some of the most prestigious schools in the Nation such as USC, Stanford, University of Texas, Texas A & M and Ivy League schools such Brown, Columbia and Yale. Former recipients include California Superior Court Judge Dalila Corral-Lyons, one of the first Mexican-American N.A.S.A. Astronauts, Jose M. Hernandez, along with many Doctors, Lawyers and Teachers that have returned to their own communities to support and encourage the next generation. Since 1971, more than a quarter of a million dollars in scholarships has been awarded to both California and Texas students.
The Vikki Carr Scholarship Foundation remains committed to helping Hispanic youth become leaders in our society. In December of 2018 Vikki Carr partnered with the San Antonio Area Foundation to ensure the longevity and continued success of VCSF’s scholarship program.
The purpose of the scholarship program is to provide financial assistance to Bexar County high school seniors of Mexican-American descent determined to further their education. “The foundation is my way of thanking God for the gift of my voice, a gift that helped me realize my dreams. In return, I want to help Hispanic students realize their dreams by assisting their efforts to pursue higher education.”
– Vikki Carr