By LISA KLEIN
After its 20th yr elevating funds to buy provides for faculties within the Santa Barbara, California space, the Village Properties Instructor’s Fund has surpassed $2 million in donations.
Based in 2002 by the true property agency’s proprietor, Renee Grubb, the fund’s focus is on the gadgets lecturers want for his or her college students however typically need to pay for themselves.
“At Village Properties, our focus is the local people,” mentioned Brianna Johnson, an agent with the Santa Barbara-based agency and a director of the fund.
“College students are our future, and it’s so essential to make sure that they’ve the instruments they should thrive within the classroom,” she mentioned. “The Instructor’s Fund is ready to assist lecturers get the precise provides they should additional the training of their college students.”
Pay it ahead
Ms. Grubb determined to begin the Instructor’s Fund after she noticed space lecturers reaching for their very own wallets to pay for varsity provides.
Academics are in a position to apply for provide grants of as much as $1,000 or create a want listing of things that they’re lacking.
“As soon as a funding request has been accepted, the instructor is notified and can be reimbursed for the merchandise/gadgets as soon as they’ve bought,” Ms. Johnson mentioned. “They’re funded inside two weeks of their buy of the merchandise or provides.
“Instructor’s Fund is primarily there to fund gadgets the state or faculty district doesn’t,” she mentioned.
Requested provides typically embrace books, artwork provides, dictionaries, rugs, studying supplies, storage, and organizational instruments and electronics.
Village Properties additionally covers all working bills for the fund in order that 100% of the donations it receives pays for requested gadgets.
An annual provides drive in September and October, now finishing its fourth yr, is a serious fundraiser, bringing the neighborhood collectively to assist its lecturers.
People contribute donations to buy particular requests and native companies get entangled with bigger sponsorships.
“It provides an perception into the classroom and Instructor’s Fund – seeing what sorts of provides our lecturers and college students have to be profitable,” Ms. Johnson mentioned.
This yr, the provides drive raised $85,000-plus – greater than $10,000 above the fund’s purpose.
“The neighborhood has been unbelievable all through the Instructor’s Fund’s lifetime,” Ms. Johnson mentioned. “Collectively we’ve been in a position to donate over $2 million within the final 20 years to our native school rooms.”
These funds have gone to lecturers all through the Santa Barbara faculty district, which at the moment has greater than 13,000 college students at 12 elementary faculties, 4 junior excessive faculties and 5 excessive faculties.
“Instructor’s Fund receives many lovely thank-you playing cards, notes and paintings from recipients and their college students,” Ms. Johnson mentioned.
“Academics are all the time so grateful to obtain a grant from the Instructor’s Fund,” she mentioned. “It helps them to boost their college students’ studying expertise and permits them to maintain their hard-earned cash in their very own pockets, too.”