The Yolo Community Foundation has announced the creation of the David Breaux Memorial Scholarship. David Breaux was a beloved local resident who was killed during a recent series of violent crimes in Davis, CA. Breaux was sometimes nicknamed “The Compassion Guy” because of the more than ten years he spent gathering definitions for the word “compassion” and championing the concept in the local community. Community members are invited to contribute to the scholarship in Breaux’s honor at https://sacregcf.org/davidbreaux.

The scholarship will be open to high school seniors and first year college students who demonstrate financial need, are graduating from Yolo County high schools, are pursuing higher education, and demonstrate an abiding commitment to social justice and compassionate service. The first round of this annual scholarship will open to applicants in December 2023; visit this page this fall for details and application instructions.

The scholarship is a fund at the Yolo Community Foundation, which is an affiliate of the Sacramento Region Community Foundation. The founding donation came from a local couple, both retired professors. According to the couple, “David was such a gentle man, and his dedication to exploring the nature of compassion was inspiring. We wanted to see his curiosity, intelligence, and commitment to compassion live on.”

According to Maria Breaux, David Breaux’s sister, “David’s life mission was to spread awareness of compassion. This scholarship continues this goal, and allows a young person to help cultivate, in their own ways, a world where everyone treats each other with kindness, empathy, and unconditional love.”

Interested donors may contribute to the scholarship by credit card at https://sacregcf.org/davidbreaux. Checks can be made out to “David Breaux Memorial Scholarship” and mailed to the Yolo Community Foundation at P.O. Box 1264 Woodland, CA 95776. For information about wire/ACH transfers, or to learn about donating stock or other assets, please contact the Yolo Community Foundation at  or 530-312-0593.