Roz Rosen, director of the National Center on Deafness, said university officials were "thrilled" to receive the club's gift.

"It will do so much to advance opportunities for our students at CSUN and beyond," Rosen said. "More than that, the recipients of these awards will also become aware of the importance of external support and the value of giving back to the community."

The gift established the Reseda Women's Club Endowment for Deaf and Hard of Hearing Students which will fund at least two scholarships each year to promising deaf and hard of hearing students who meet the university's financial need requirements.

Reseda resident Evelyn Morris, 93, a longtime member and former president of the club, said she was responsible in part for the club member's decision to create the endowment.

"I have a son who is deaf and wanted to do something in that area to support students," Morris said.

The organization started in 1918 as a "mothers' club" at Reseda Elementary School. Four years later, the group was formally recognized by an international women's club organization and became the Reseda Women's Club.

Since then, the members of the club, a volunteer service organization, have held fundraisers for and volunteered their time at a variety of community groups in the San Fernando Valley, from the Boy and Girl Scouts to local senior centers and nursing homes.

Morris said that as the group's numbers have dwindled over the years from well over 100 to its current 48, its leaders have given serious thought to what they wanted to do with money they received from the recent sale of its building.

"We wanted to do something big that would help young people-students," Morris said. "The program at CSUN seemed the perfect fit for what we were looking for. We wanted to give scholarships to students who were getting an education, but make the scholarships flexible enough so that the students could apply the money to what they thought their most pressing need was: tuition, books, food, transportation, or whatever they thought they needed."

The National Center on Deafness has placed California State University, Northridge at the forefront internationally in providing services to people who are deaf and hard of hearing. The center has been honored for service to the campus and community, as well as for its specialized projects and materials used across the nation.

The National Center on Deafness' nationally recognized support system of note takers, tutors and interpreters allows CSUN's approximately 200 deaf and hard-of-hearing students to take a full part in university life. CSUN's population of deaf and hard-of-hearing students is one of the largest at any mainstream university in the United States. The university was among the first to offer services to mainstream these students, beginning more than 40 years ago.

California State University, Northridge is celebrating "50 years of life-changing opportunity" this year. The university has more than 36,000 full- and part-time students and offers 64 bachelor's and 50 master's degrees as well as 28 teaching credential programs. Founded in 1958, CSUN is among the largest single-campus universities in the nation and the only four-year public university in the San Fernando Valley. The university serves as the intellectual, economic and cultural heart of the Valley and beyond.