(REVISED March 15, 2017 — 9:30 a.m.) — Michael Treviño, whose Bay Area family was inspired by his Aunt Ermelinda Treviño to establish an endowment to help Fresno State students facing food insecurity, has pledged $32,000 in matching funds to the March Match Up campaign supporting the Student Cupboard.

The campaign – a community-wide fundraising drive to battle student hunger issues at Fresno State – was launched March 1 with an announcement from Kaiser Permanente Northern California Community Benefits Programs and accounting firm Moss Adams LLP. Those two community partners promised to match dollar-for-dollar all monetary gifts to the Student Cupboard up to $50,000 throughout the month.

With the additional commitment from Treviño, the total amount of matching funds to support the free food and hygiene cupboard for Fresno State students climbed to $82,000, which means the campaign has the opportunity to generate $164,000 or more for the Student Cupboard when the goal is met.

“This is a family decision,” Treviño said. “We made the choice as a family to make this gift during March Match Up to double the impact.”

The Treviño family’s history of support for this project began in December, 2015 when they established a $25,000 charitable gift annuity in honor of Ermelinda Treviño, or “Tia Linda”. In 2016, Treviño and other supporters gave additional funds to establish an endowment to fund the food and hygiene cupboard.

The funds Treviño announced toward the March Match Up campaign will be used to grow the endowment and provide ongoing support of the Student Cupboard in perpetuity.

Treviño, an alumnus of UC Berkeley and a college friend of Fresno State President Joseph I. Castro, is issuing a challenge to other families, along with UC Berkeley and Fresno State alumni, to give to the March Match Up effort which ends March 30.

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