The Western Growers Foundation has partnered with the Aiello family to increase the internship reimbursement program. The Next Gen. Ag. Program currently has funding to reimburse $3,000 per intern to the employer for a total of 45 internships. The generous donation of $56,000 will cover an additional 17 internship reimbursements this summer. The students in this inaugural cohort are all pursuing a career in crop production at colleges throughout the state. The funds come from a scholarship fund that the Aiello family set up nearly 20 years ago.
The Michael Aiello Memorial Agricultural Scholarship Fund (MAMASF) was founded in Morgan Hill, California by the Aiello family in 2007 after the tragic death of beloved son and brother, Michael, who was an integral part of the family business (Uesugi Farms) as its Farm Manager. Michael had an intense passion for growing vegetable crops, and the family wanted to commemorate his life and dedication to the craft by providing assistance to other young people who were pursuing the same career as he did. Thus, the foundation was born, with the mission of providing scholarships to students from local high schools who were seeking to attend college and obtain degrees in the agricultural sciences. From 2008 to present, MAMASF has granted hundreds of thousands of dollars in scholarships to these talented young men and women.
In order to take the organization to the next level and increase its impact on the agricultural world, the Aiello family sought to form a working relationship with another nonprofit foundation whose reach and resources to assist young agriculturalists was at a greater level than the one which the family had created. As Uesugi Farms was a WG member¬— and Joe and Pete had participated as a Director and participant in the Western Growers Future Volunteer Leaders Program, respectively—the Aiello family chose the Western Growers Foundation to undertake this task.
“My dad and I felt the Western Growers Foundation would be the perfect steward for our fund”, says Pete. “In our opinion, there isn’t a better organization out there which embodies the same mission and values. Its focus is the same as ours – to provide significant financial assistance to these young people to help them achieve their common goal of starting a career in production agriculture. It was an easy decision.”
After the initial cohort of internships is completed, it is anticipated that the Aiello Family will commit additional funds to continue this partnership in the future.