Taco Bell franchisee Chris Walsh presented $15,000 in grant funds to two Boys & Girls Club in Lake Tahoe. The North Lake Tahoe club was given $10,000 and South Lake Tahoe one $5,000.

Walsh and partners Bill and Mary Lou Mullin own Taco Bell restaurants in the Tahoe region and are longtime supporters of Boys & Girls clubs.

North Lake Tahoe plans to use the funding to support its college prep program for teen members. This summer participants will go on a three-day Bay Area college tour. In the fall, the grant funding will support the club’s SAT test preparation programs which include test prep curriculum, staff mentoring and test fee support for teens hoping to attend college.

Some of the grant money will also be used to support the club’s “Career Launch” program which prepares teens for entering the workplace by assisting them with resumes, mock interviews and teaching workplace etiquette.

In South Lake Tahoe, the funding will support two initiatives – “Be Great: Graduate” program and the “College Bound” program.

“Be Great: Graduate” targets middle and high school students to encourage and support them in completing high school. “College Bound” exposes students to area colleges through field trips and contact with current college students. The idea is encourage students to complete high school and to plant the seed the college attendance is a real possibility.