By: Christine Schreck
The torch has passed.
Students Helping Students, an initiative founded and led by Jacob Dartez and four of his De La Salle High School friends that raises money for named scholarships for Family Aid- Catholic Education (FACE), has new students leading the way after the founding five graduated from high school in the spring of 2025.
Twins Valentina and Massimo Deneroff have stepped up to continue and grow Students Helping Students. Now juniors in high school at Carondelet High School and Monte Vista High School, respectively, they were in eighth grade at St. Isidore School when their brother GianLuca joined Jacob, Jason Habserstroh, Jack Suryan and Hayden Barnes to raise funds to create two FACE named scholarships, one for an elementary school student and one for a high school student.
“It was great to see them providing an opportunity for people who don’t have as much,” Valentina said.
“Our brother believed in this deeply,” Massimo said of the decision to step into the leadership role. “It’s good to carry on the work he started so the scholarships can continue.”
In addition to continuing their brother’s legacy, both Massimo and Valentina recognize the value of Catholic education in their own lives.
“Catholic education helps children grow in faith. Do the right thing. Care for others. It creates a strong sense of community and support. It’s not just about academics. It’s about making good people,” Massimo said.
Valentina loves the sense of community she has at Carondelet. “Being able to have Masses with the school and praying together is special, especially as juniors. It’s a hard year for us,” she said. “We want to give others the opportunity for a Catholic education like we had.”
The twins recruited a group of friends from church and school to join them, including Avery Estabrook, L. Bender, Luc Gutmann and Tyler Lewis. They plan to continue the fundraising methods of their predecessors, such as outreach in the St. Isidore community as well as reaching out to nearby parishes. “We will model what the founders did, but we’re open to new ideas. At minimum, we want to do what they did because what they did was great,” Massimo said.
Underneath the praise for the great work of the founders runs a current of good-spirited sibling rivalry, a desire to succeed to a greater degree than their brother did in the name of helping others. “We want to help people who want to go to Catholic school. Do what my brother and his friends did and more,” Massimo said. “Be better, raise more money, fund more scholarships.”
If you’d like to contribute to FACE through Students Helping Students, please use this link or send a check to:
Family Aid – Catholic Education
2121 Harrison St.
Suite 100, Oakland, CA 94612
Please note Students Helping Students in the Memo line.