Logan Program Warns Against Donation Scam

A program advisor is warning the community not to give out money or personal information to anyone who says he or she is collecting donations for the James Logan High School Puente Program.

“Our Puente program never does that,” Puente advisor and Logan language arts teacher Susan Garcia told Patch.

Garcia told Patch Thursday that she was recently notified of someone going door-to-door and asking for donations in the program’s name.

A senior Puente student told Garcia that someone had knocked on his door and asked for money. The student’s mother, who was familiar with the program because of her son, was duped into giving a monetary donation.

While the Puente club does hold fundraising events, such as zumba fundraisers or dinner nights at local restaurants, the organization does not conduct general door-to-door soliciting for contributions, Garcia said.

“There’s no fundraising going on right now; we’re done with all of the fundraising for the school year,” she said.

The Logan Puente program is part of the Puente Project, a nationally recognized program affiliated with UC Berkeley that helps under-represented students get into four-year universities. The program started at Chabot College 30 years ago and has now spread throughout the entire state, Garcia said.

School administrators and the on-site school resource officer have been notified of the fraudulent activity, Garcia added.

Anyone who has been a victim or has any information regarding the scan should contact the police department.