Sips For Scholarships Honors Melrose Grad Ray Rocha
By Nancy Clover
Ray Rocha
Photo From MHS Permanent Scholarship Fund
Some people just have a way of bringing everyone together.
Ray Rocha was one of those people. He was the life of the party — outgoing, personable, a prankster who loved having fun and someone who treated everyone he met like a friend. With Ray, there were no strangers.
This year, friends and neighbors will come together once again — this time in Ray’s memory and for a cause that will help generations of Melrose students: Sips for Scholarships is back this Saturday night!
This year’s Sips for Scholarships Fundraiser will be especially meaningful as the evening honors Ray Rocha, a Melrose resident who lost his life in New York City on September 11, 2001. There is also a special connection between Ray and the Melrose High School Permanent Scholarship Fund. Sue Sullivan, Assistant Treasurer of the Scholarship Fund, remembers Ray well — her brother was one of Ray’s best friends.
She remembers someone who could light up a gathering. Ray was fun, outgoing and always ready with a prank. Most of all, he had that wonderful ability to make people feel welcome. He treated everyone like a friend and had a way of bringing people together. How fitting, then, that people will gather for a night in his honor.
Hosted by the nonprofit Melrose High School Permanent Scholarship Fund, Sips for Scholarships has become one of those nights people look forward to — and last year it SOLD OUT!
Last year's Sips for Scholarships
Gather your friends and enjoy tastings of craft beer, fine wines, and premium spirits, along with delicious appetizers and desserts. There will also be live music and a cashless bar offering specialty cocktails.
It’s a party, but it’s a party with a purpose. Over the past three years, the Melrose High School Permanent Scholarship Fund has awarded more than $1.5 MILLION in scholarships to nearly 650 graduating seniors. Nearly 650 young people leaving Melrose High School with a little more help as they take their next step — made possible by the generosity of this community.
Learn more about the Raymond J. Rocha Memorial Scholarship here.
So gather your friends. Come out for a wonderful night. Enjoy the food, music, and tastings. Raise a glass and help support the next generation of Melrose graduates.
And maybe there couldn’t be a more fitting way to honor Ray: A man remembered as the life of the party. A man who never met a stranger. A man who had a gift for bringing people together.
On Saturday night, we’ll do exactly that. We’ll come together, celebrate, remember Ray, and we’ll help give hundreds of Melrose students something worth celebrating, too. Hope to see you there!
Buy your tickets for Sips for Scholarships here!
