Thanks to generous residents in La Plata County and beyond, 2016 Durango High School graduate Vicente Jimenez arrived Thursday at Chabot College in Hayward, California, to begin pursuing his college degree and compete in track and field.
Jimenez, who spent much of his high school years on his own, needed financial help to overcome the final hurdle and complete his dream of being the first in his family to attend college. Elizabeth Testa, executive director of the Durango Education Foundation, set up a GoFundMe.com page for the DHS graduate. Donations flooded the site accompanied by heartfelt messages, well-wishes, offers for help and congratulations.
Within 24 hours of Jimenez’s story being told in The Durango Herald, Testa had raised the money to pay for a plane ticket and the first semester of tuition. Less than a week later, donors had contributed $8,440 of the $10,000 goal. “I want to thank the people who donated. It truly means a lot to me and my family,” Jimenez said in a text message to the Herald. “I’m still trying to wrap my head around it. Every single person that contributed is in my prayers.”
Herald Staff
