SHSAA Projects

CURRENT SHSAA PROJECTS

Donations may be sent to SHSAA, P.O. Box 2534, Redwood City, CA 94064-2534,
with special notation on your check as to desired fund, or through our online form.

Cherokee Grants Program
The annual "Cherokee Grants" program is set up to fund instructional services and/or the purchase of instructional equipment and materials that are not included in the current District budget. Grant applications are given to every teacher. The "Cherokee Grants " Committee studies each request and makes a recommendation to the Alumni Association Board of Directors as to how our limited monies can best be spent to benefit the most students. The application form contains several questions that must be adequately addressed for the Committee to make its determination. To donate, go to the order page.

"Spirit of the Seal" Scholarship Program
One or more scholarships are donated each year to a graduating senior. Students fill out an extensive application and are chosen on the basis of a wide range of criteria. Names of scholarship winners are engraved on a perpetual trophy housed in Sequoia's main hall, near the library. To donate, see order page.

Century Club

Donate $100 or more per year, sustaining membership (tax deductible).
Support SHSAA's "Spirit of the Seal" Scholarship program.
Names of CENTURY CLUB members appear on a plaque and in "Smoke Signals."

For more information, please contact Cindy Johnson, Scholarship and Century Club Chairman, P.O. Box 2534, Redwood City, CA 94064, or phone (415) 637-8261, or email scholarship@sequoiaalumni.org.

Sequoia Sports Hall of Fame
Through our Athletic Review Committee, we are working with the high school and the Sequoia Union High School District to improve the image of over 100 years of Sequoia athletics. The 36 lineal foot Hall of Fame is housed in cabinets in the main hall, and the Cherokee Wall of Fame (championship teams, coaches, and high-profile athletes) is in the large gym foyer. Sports HOF Induction Banquets are held periodically.

Alumni Sports Scholarship
The Alumni Sports Scholarship is awarded to a deserving boy or girl athlete who has shown exceptional sportsmanship and skill and maintained a minimum GPA of 2.75.

Carrington Hall Bricks
Engraved bricks may be purchased for placement in front of Carrington Hall. Each brick is $100 and may have up to three lines with 20 characters or spaces per line. Why not go in with a friend or two to buy a brick and split the cost. To order, see order page.

Carrington Music
SHSAA is collecting copies of Carrington's music for distribution to the schools and for preservation in the archives. These are very important to the history of Sequoia. If you have any of Mr. Carrington's music and wish to donate it to the SHSAA, please contact Dee Eva 650-368-4800 or send it to her at 1021 Arlington Road, Redwood City, CA 94062-1850, or to donate to the cause, see order page.

Sequoia Authors Collection
The collection includes books written by or about Sequoians and is housed at the Sequoia library. If you have written a book, or have a book written by or about a Sequoia student or teacher, and would like to donate it to the Sequoia High School Alumni Association, we will include it on the "Sequoia Authors Shelf" with a bookplate naming the donor. If you are aware of any books that were written by or about a Sequoia student or teacher, please let us know and we will try to obtain it for the library. Please contact Dee Eva 650-368-4800 or at 1021 Arlington Road, Redwood City, CA 94062-1850.

Native American Book Collection
The Alumni-sponsored Native American section at the Sequoia library continues to grow. Many students and teachers are using this invaluable resource to enrich their educational experience at Sequoia. It is in Sequoyah's honor that the SHSAA sponsors the Native American studies section of the school's library. Sequoyah the man was a Cherokee scholar. He remains one of only a handful of people to have invented a writing system in the last 7,000 years. He invented a syllabary of 84 signs, one for each syllable of the Cherokee language. His syllabary is still used today. His statue stands in the U.S. Capitol building and his likeness graces the great bronze doors of the Library of Congress. Our goal is to have the most complete Native American section of any high school in the state. If you have any Native American books, in servicable condition, you may donate them. Funds are also needed for the purchase of specific books and reference materials, Any contribution you would like to make will enhance the education of current and future Sequoia students. To donate, see order page.

Sequoia Veterans Memorial
SHSAA continues to receive donations to the Sequoia Veterans Memorial which was erected in 2005 and contains the names of Sequoians who have died in service to our country. There is still plenty of room for paving bricks ($100), redwood or weeping cherry trees with boulders featuring bronze dedication plaques ($1,000) or engraved concrete benches ($3,000).
Surplus funds from donations to the Sequoia Veterans Memorial have been reserved for maintenance of the monument and for future engraving. However, additional funds have been set aside for purchasing war-related books and materials for Sequoia High School. To contribute to the SVM Fund for purchase of war-related books and materials for Sequoia High School, send donations in any amount, payable to SHSAA, to Dee Eva, 1021 Arlington Road, Redwood City, CA 94062-1850.

Legacy Society
Planned giving through your will, trusts and annuities can provide lifetime income and tax advantages to the donor, and later provide perpetual support for Sequoia High School through the efforts of the Alumni Association. Gifts of highly appreciated assets, such as stocks, bonds, and real estate will help the donor avoid paying taxes on the capital gains. Contact SHSAA for more information about the SHSAA Legacy Society. Here's more information about Estate Plan gifting.

Purple Patriot Awards
Recognition of individuals who have made significant contributions to Sequoia High School. Plaques are presented annually, and the names of honorees are engraved on a perpetual trophy housed in Sequoia's main hall, near the library. RECIPIENTS OF THE PURPLE PATRIOT AWARD:

2002-2003 Dr. Jeffrey Filippi & Lucille Galvin
2003-2004 Paul Sanfilipo & Joseph Mann
2004-2005 Carolyn Frohlich & Erin Lucien
2005-2006 Dee Rowan Eva & Ed Nordness
2006-2007 Mike Craig, Bruce Rollin & First National Bank of Northern California
2007-2008 Wilma Hoffmann & Morgan Marchbanks
2008-2009 Barba Kandarian, Glenn Lew & Glen Michelson
2009-2010 Rosemary Lopez Alvarez & Nancy Lebkicher Oliver
2010-2011 Rich Eva, Dr. Terri Bittner & International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, Local 617
2011-2012 Don Milhaupt & Mayela Ramirez
2012-2013 Shoko Barnes & Mike Fabel
2013-2014 Sequoia Healthcare District Heartsafe Program & Redwood City 2020
2014-2015 Margaret Marshall
2015-2016 John Castro & Sharon Levine
2016-2017 Carolyn Abbott Livengood & Grace Schulz
2017-2018 None
2018-2019 Larry and Jeff Rice, Lisa Hane & Dave Knochenhauer
2019-2020 Michal Roof
2020-2021 March for Our Lives Sequoia Union and Sequoia Science Olympiad
2021-2022 Claudia Rendon and David Stahler
2022-2023 Sofia Rava
2023-2024 Jane Slater

INSPIRATION GROVE
Is there a teacher or coach you would like to thank for their inspiration, encouragement and mentoring, who had a positive and lasting influence on your life? The Sequoia High School Alumni Association asks you to honor any coach, teacher, family member, or friend (they need not have attended or taught at Sequoia). You can purchase bricks, trees or engraved benches for placement in Inspiration Grove, a stand of redwoods outside the Business wing of Sequoia, off the student parking lot, in close proximity to the baseball field (Bob Andersen Field).
Please use the following flier and order form for more details.

MAJOR PROJECTS FUNDED BY SHSAA

Dedication of Argo Tower (1988), to recognize the influence of A.C. Argo, an early principal.
Dedication of the Sequoia Seal, (1990) in memory of its 1925 designer, faculty member Gladys Beeman Bruce.
El Camino Gate Restoration (1991): $15,000 donation
Tea Garden Restoration (1991 - 1995) $28,000 was expended for this project that was completed in advance of the Sequoia Centennial in 1995. In addition to the cash expenditure, Alumni Association volunteers put in over 1900 hours of volunteer labor. Combined cash and volunteer labor totaled about $37,000 for the project.
Listing Sequoia on the National Register of Historic Places
Celebration of the Sequoia Centennial (1995) and the Diamond Jubilee of the current campus (1999).
Carrington Hall Restoration (1995 - 2003): $57,500 donation
Development of orientation materials for incoming students and faculty on the history of Sequoia High School, the campus and the school's many traditions
Sequoia Veteran's Memorial (2005) - total expenses to date are $56,000 out of $74,000 collected. The surplus is to be used for maintenance of the memorial and related activities.
Recognition of Sequoia High School's athletic heritage (2004 - 2006): $26,000 plus considerable man-hours spent developing a seventeen foot lighted sign at Terremere Field reading "Terremere Field - Home of the Sequoia Cherokees Teams"; a thirty-six foot linear display on the first floor, with signage "Sequoia Sports Hall of Fame"; large Gym Foyer remodel with the installation of the "Sequoia Cherokee Wall of Fame" show-casing Hall of Fame athletes and coaches, league and section championship teams and photographs of high profile Hall of Fame athletes.
Naming of the baseball field, "Bob Andersen Field", (2010) in honor of former student and long-time coach (1950 - 1980), Bob Andersen. A fund drive accompanying the naming of "Bob Andersen Field" grossed $32,240. Not included in this figure, but part of the fund drive effort, was a donation by the I. B E. W. (International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers) Local 617 of a new baseball scoreboard denoting "Bob Andersen Field" valued at $8,000 for a combined gross total value of $40,240. Net proceeds in the amount of $25,600 were donated to Sequoia High School to establish a fund benefiting athletics by helping economically disadvantaged Sequoia athletes, providing uniforms and attendance at sports camps for years to come.
Inspiration Grove (2012), a stand of Redwoods landscaped with pavers outside the Business wing of Sequoia and in close proximity to the baseball field, "Bob Andersen Field", was initially created as a fund raising mechanism for the "Bob Andersen Field" fund with net proceeds now used for teachers' grants.
Sequoyah Statue (2015), a 3-foot bronze statue of the great Cherokee scholar, Sequoyah, which sits on a pedestal. Gifted sculptor, Daniel HorseChief, who designed and created a statue of Sequoyah for Northeastern State University in Tahlequah Oklahoma, was selected to do the work. The statue is located in the foyer of the main entrance. Creator of the Cherokee writing system known as a syllabary, Sequoyah reflects the great history of Sequoia High School, capturing the importance of education and global understanding. He is the perfect symbol of this institution, "Sequoia" being the Latin form of Sequoyah. Total expenses were $19,000.