Coachella Valley students to receive scholarship money

The Women Leaders Forum of the Coachella Valley will distribute $100,000 in college scholarships to local students at its annual Scholarship Luncheon Monday.

The 11:30 a.m. luncheon will be held at Miramonte Resort & Spa, and the $100,000 is the most ever raised in the Women Leaders Forum’s history. The group received a $50,000 matching grant from Pathways to Success, a division of the Coachella Valley Economic Partnership, and several thousand in donations from members of the community.

At the luncheon, former television station owner Jim Houston will present the first Jackie Lee Houston Scholarship to a Palm Springs High School student. Jackie Lee Houston, a longtime member and supporter of the Women Leaders Forum and a prominent local philanthropist, died in 2011.

Founded in 2001 by current Indian Wells Mayor Mary T. Roche, the forum has raised more than $250,000 for college scholarships for members of its Young Women Leaders Program.

Tickets are $35 for members and $45 for nonmembers. Attendees are asked bring canned food items for Indio’s FIND Food Bank.

For tickets, go to www.wlfdesert.org.