What a year it has been. While we hope our families and community are happy and healthy during these challenging pandemic times, it’s really hard to start this greeting without addressing the state of our world first. We are deeply saddened by the systemic social inequities which have always been there, most recently resulting in unfathomable continued (as this is not new) loss of precious human lives. We are more than ever wanting to join the action in the cause to turn whatever is within our control into fairness, equality, and just plain old love of all humankind. As always, we welcome volunteers and input from all of you about any ideas you might have, but we would really love to hear about how we can help create that bridge to fairness and love for all of the students and families in our strong D31 community! We NEED a more diversified Education Foundation to truly understand the needs of our entire student body and families. We have always solicited more volunteers, but now more than ever we hope that you will consider becoming a member of the Ed Foundation and we hope that we hear from volunteers of all different ethnicities and backgrounds. We need to all work together to understand one another. Great minds think differently! And we need and WANT great and differently thinking minds on our Foundation.
While we all patiently wait to learn how our kids will be educated in the 2020/2021 school year, the Education Foundation will be working with the administrators to identify funding needs and brainstorming ideas for fundraising in both traditional and these new educational environments. So please help the Ed Foundation represent our cherished diverse community and join our efforts to raise funds to provide engaging, enriching, inclusive and growth-focused educational environments which meet the diverse needs of each and every one of our students. Please contact Darrin Stern, President, at [email protected], if you would like to get involved!
And, finally, we did not want the summer to begin without thanking you all from the bottom of our hearts for supporting our efforts this past 2019/2020 school year! Without the volunteers, the donations, the administrative and Board of Education support, and the student and family participation in our fundraising efforts and events, we would not have been able to accomplish our goals and complete the funding for the outdoor play improvements at both Winkelman Elementary and Field Middle Schools! We are truly so grateful to be a part of such a wonderful and giving community which always comes together to support our schools.
Below are the highlights of the 2019/2020 school year:
October 2019 – The kids ran their little hearts out and together with our D31 families, admin, staff and Board of Education, the Ed Foundation’s APEX Fun Run generated over $30,000 in revenues!
February 2020 – Whew! Under the COVID-19 Buzzer (and we did not even know that at the time) … Parents and community members got their dancing shoes on, got their trivia on, got their socializing on, and got their charitable giving on at the Education Foundation’s All New Trivia Night Winter Benefit at our new lively and fun location, Rocky’s American Grill! Together, we raised over $20,000 in total revenues and presented the very BIG $120,000 check to the Administration and Board of Education Members to fulfill our 2 year fundraising campaign for the new fun, safe and inclusive playground equipment at Winkelman and outdoor play space at Field, a/k/a “The Quad!”
Late March 2020 – Together with a couple of generous community businesses, the Ed Foundation gave the District 31 Administration $2,100 worth of gift cards to several local restaurants and one grocery store for distribution to our local families needing the most help.
Throughout the Year – Offer grants to our fabulous teachers for their everyday teaching needs!
Thank you again! Please strongly consider our call to volunteer and for a more diverse Education Foundation. Together, we can strike down our biases, learn about and value our differences, and achieve equality for our kids and our D31 community. We are the same even though we may be different. Let’s embrace, understand and love those differences by working together!
Have wonderful summer vacations enjoying your families while staying safe and healthy!
