Jordan Grant’s family donates $50,000 to encourage student voting

May 26, 2019

Jordan Grant will never have the chance to vote, but his family wants to make sure that others do in his memory. Grant, a Cal Poly computer science freshman, was hit and killed on Oct. 7, 2018 by a driver crossing Highway 101 at El Campo Road in rural Arroyo Grande. [Cal Coast Times]

The Grant family advocated to close the intersection, and after months of writing letters and emails, gathering community support, and battling legal actions, the intersection has been closed.

During their advocacy efforts, the Grant family encouraged students and community members to vote in the Nov. 2018 election in memory of their son.

“We realized that his passion to get others to go vote with him could still happen — that his friends and family could go vote in honor of Jordan,” James Grant said.

After Cal Poly won the Secretary of State Ballot Bowl Competition for registering the most student voters in California, the Grant family made a $50,000 donation to Associated Students Inc.  to support Cal Poly’s voter-registration efforts.

“This was one way we could give back to Cal Poly, share Jordan’s story, ask people to register to vote, and then go vote in honor of Jordan,” James Grant said. “He can’t, but maybe his story will remind each of us to treasure the rights and responsibilities we have — to make a difference while we are here for the Cal Poly community. And when you vote,  you make a difference.”