LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – Three fifth-graders in Lake and Mendocino schools are receiving awards made possible this year by Mendo Lake Credit Union’s participation in the Mendocino College Foundation’s Adopt-A-Fifth-Grader Program.

In Lakeport, student Makaila Durbin of Terrace Middle School was selected for the honor. Nathan Johnson was the recipient from Oak Manor Elementary School in Ukiah, as was Sam Dalson from Round Valley School in Covelo.

The awards were made possible by donations from the Mendo Lake Credit Union (MLCU). Each student was chosen for the award in a manner designated by his or her school.

For the Mendocino College Foundation’s program, contributors like MLCU sponsor fifth-graders at elementary schools within the Mendocino-Lake Community College District by donating an amount that grows into a full $1,000 scholarship by the time the student is set to graduate from high school.

The program is designed to give “at risk” students an incentive to finish high school and move on to college.

Each fifth-grade honoree receives $25 and a certificate as the recipient of the award. Upon graduation from high school, the student receives a $500 cash incentive or a $1,000 scholarship if he or she elects to attend Mendocino College.

The credit union matched each of its sponsored honorees’ $25 prize with an offer to open an MLCU savings account with the contribution of an additional $25, according to the credit union’s chief executive officer, Richard Cooper, who is vice chair of the Mendocino College Foundation’s Board of Directors.

MLCU is a Community Development Credit Union serving the rural Mendocino and Lake counties in northern California. MLCU currently has 17,800 members and over $123 million in assets.

Its branches are located in Lakeport, Clearlake, Fort Bragg and Ukiah. MLCU is committed to supporting a wide range of nonprofit and community organizations, said Cooper.

Visit the credit union online at www.mlcu.org .