DYW rescheduled for June 4 at Ford Theater

Due to the ongoing COVID-19 situation, the Distinguished Young Woman of Shafter scholarship program, originally scheduled for March 20 was postponed.

The program is now tentatively scheduled for Friday, June 4, at Shafter's Ford Theater.

Shafter's Distinguished Young Woman program, one of the oldest in the state, has been providing local high school girls with college scholarships and valuable life skills for over 45 years.

Toni Frantz of the DYW organizing committee said that one of the main reasons for this success is the outstanding support that they receive from their generous sponsors and the community. The committee thought long and hard about what to do in light of the local, state and national guidelines regarding the regulations on gathering size limitations that are now in place.

They originally planned to limit the seating to friends and family. They ultimately decided that it would be in the best interest of the girls, escorts and the community to postpone the event.

"Due to the desire to still have a showcase for the young ladies and escorts who have worked so hard to prepare these past three months, we have made the decision to postpone the event until June 4," Franz said.

She thanked the amazing community who in the last few days have made donations to help keep the scholarship money for these young ladies. "We are truly blessed to have such a supportive community," Frantz said.

In order to make things easier, the DYW participant who sold a ticket will collect those tickets for a refund. New tickets will be sold at a later date. Scholarship Seat ticket holders will be contacted by Valerie Labrentz regarding a refund.