Cultural event volunteers
A Venezuelan nonprofit is searching for volunteers for a cultural celebration in Saratoga on Sept. 26.
Dulce Tricolor Venezolano is a nonprofit founded to preserve and share Venezuelan cultural heritage through dance, music and community events. It was founded in 2019 by a group of Venezuelan women who aimed to connect children with the music, dance and traditions of Venezuela. The nonprofit teaches Venezuelan folk dance to kids, teens and adults from all backgrounds in Campbell.
Their fourth annual cultural celebration, “A Journey Through Venezuela,” is set for 4-8 p.m. at Prince of Peace Lutheran Church. The nonprofit is looking for volunteers to help greet and check in guests, as well as with tickets and registration; merchandise and fundraising; food and beverages; photography, video and social media; cultural activities and event support; and setup and cleanup.
Event organizers said community service hours would be provided to high students who volunteer. For more information, visit https://dulcetricolor.com/about.
Impact Awards
Silicon Valley Youth Climate Action (SVYCA) has been named a 2026 Nonprofit Impact Award recipient by the Silicon Valley Council of Nonprofits.
SVYCA’s goal is to train and empower the next generation of climate leaders. Over the past several years, the student-led nonprofit has grown to more than 150 active youth members, expanded its programs and partnerships, and created more opportunities for young people across the South Bay to engage directly in climate education, advocacy and community action.
SVYCA will be celebrating with the other 2026 Nonprofit Impact Award recipients at the council’s “Be Our Guest!” gala on Thursday, Oct. 22. For more information on what the nonprofit is doing locally, visit https://www.svyouthclimateaction.org/saratoga-los-gatos.
Meritorious recognition
Dozens of Saratoga high school seniors are among about 16,000 high school students in the graduating class of 2027 — less than 1% of U.S. seniors —named semifinalists in the National Merit Scholarship Program.
The semifinalists, announced on Sept. 9, qualified based on their scores on the Preliminary SAT. About 95 percent are expected to attain finalist standing on the strength of an application detailing academic performance, participation in activities, employment and leadership.
About half the finalists will win a National Merit Scholarship, to be announced in the spring.
Semifinalists from Prospect High School are Vaanavan Aingaran, Rishma Desai, Shreyan Godsay, Aris Kao, Trishna Mohan, Trishna Parnell and Aditya Siddabathuni.
Semifinalists from Saratoga High School are Ria Abraham, Maahi Agarwal, Aditi M. Balepur, Muyi Chen, Kaitlyn Cheng, Mason Cheng, Clara Choi, Ovee Dharwadkar, Ben Guo, Arvin Hormati, Aanya Hotha, Alicia T. Huang, Dhatri Iyer, Rishi R. Kamath, Eric Liang, William Liang, Wanjing Lin, Andy Lu, Meera G. Minocha, Dhruv Narayan, Ethan Ng, Haley Pham, Sanyukta H. Ravishankar, Alan Rong, Claire X. Shen, Maxime Sobrier, Mieke Strydom, Anya Taneja, Chloe K. Tang, Ethan Tian, Tanvee Tirthapura, Veeren Ubale, Derek W. Wang, Zack Weng, Su Xie, Jack J. Yang, Warren Yang and Minghui Zhao/