1995-1999 In 1995 some Ashland parents, lead by Meg Whitehead, Claudia Bennett, Roberta Lesser, Nancy Stevens, Delores Markey, Elizabeth Manning and Judy Leavey among others, started the Ashland Education Foundation with the mission to provide financial support to Ashland K-12 school teachers for special projects not covered in their annual budget. The founders, through the generosity of lawyer and parent Tom Sannicandro, devoted many hours to formally establish the Foundation as a non-profit organization, complete with its own by-laws, tax ID, bank account and P.O. box. The parent volunteers raised funds through unique means. The Thank-a-Teacher program (which we now call GIFTS, Gifts of Innovation For Teachers and Staff) invited parents to make a donation to the fund in their teacher's name at the holidays and year end, in lieu of having the children bring teachers individual gifts. A formal letter was provided to the teacher recognizing the donation, and teachers were encouraged to apply to the Foundation for grants. Other fundraisers included community dinner dances, auctions, marathons, and carnivals for education and an Annual Appeal. During these five years, the Foundation was able to award over $25,000.00 in grants for innovative programs, many of which are still providing value in our schools today. In 1999 the founding parents, having fulfilled their original mission, moved on to other commitments and the Foundation sat dormant for the next two and a half years. 2002-2003 In 2002, parents Cece Doucette and Cindy Hoyle worked with Ashland Superintendent Dr. Richard Hoffmann to refocus the Foundation's mission. They spent most of this time setting up the infrastructure and a development strategy, which was made possible by commitments from several key volunteers and community members. Parent Melanie Hay lent her accounting expertise to manage the legal/tax filings; parent Cindy (Cerullo) Shields designed the Foundation's brochure and Bruen Printing & Envelope graciously donated printing services. Parent Steve Vinter help to develop a fundraising database, and parent Trish O'Brien managed the finances. Since 1999, Ashland's Parent Teacher Organization grew significantly and now hosts many community fundraising activities each year. The Ashland Business Association and others have been extremely supportive of these events and the Ashland Education Foundation, Inc. does not want to take undue advantage of their willingness to help our schools. The Foundation, therefore, is focusing its development strategies on businesses and corporations within the surrounding community, with limited requests to the parents and Ashland Business Association members. 2004-2005 In January 2004, a 13 member board of directors representing community leaders, business leaders, local professionals, local and state officials and educators was formed. Together they further defined the AEFI mission, vision and goals. In April 2004, the board launched the Computer Sponsorship Program to raise funds to replace outdated computers at the Henry Warren Elementary School. After a successful campaign, the AEFI launched a second Computer Sponsorship Program in May 2005 to replace the aging computers at the David Mindess School. Over the summer of 2004 we engaged the generous volunteer services of parent Selina Joseph who designed and maintains this web site for us. In September/October 2004 the Foundation held its first raffle with prizes generously donated by Staples, Inc. Our new treasurer, Kris Snow, joined the board to replace outgoing treasurer, Trish O’Brien. In May of both years, an Awards Ceremony was held to honor not only the teachers receiving grants but also the Foundation’s most generous donors and supporters. Over $5,000 in grants were awarded in 2004, and we were pleased to see that expand to $7200 in 2005. 2006-2007 We expanded our grant-giving cycle to twice a year, in the fall and the spring. This allows Ashland educators to prepare grant applications over the quieter summer months. We continued our tradition of honoring our generous supporters and innovative educators at our spring Fundraising Dinner and Grant Awards Ceremony. In 2006, Staples Corporation generously sponsored this event at their home offices in Framingham and we raised over $5,000 in ticket sales, silent auction items and a heads/tails raffle for future teacher grant awards. In 2007, the Ashland Lions hosted this event in our new High School dining hall, with a gourmet meal prepared by Fran Blake and his family, Peter and Barbara Chisholm, and a host of community volunteers. Both evenings featured an insightful overview of MA education by our state legislators, and Dr. Hoffmann presented videos he produced showcasing the prior year’s grant recipient programs. In 2006 we awarded over $12,000 in grants, and look to mirror that this year. In 2007, a new technology issue developed at the Middle School. When the sixth graders moved to that campus to join the seventh and eighth graders, the existing computers were no longer enough to service the 600+ students there. With no money in the school budget to equip another dedicated media lab, which would have required not only 30 computers but wiring and furniture as well, the AEFI worked with administrators and the PTO to launch the Middle School Mobile Computer Lab Campaign. We raised funds to purchase 30 laptops housed on two mobile wireless carts that can be used by teachers in their own classrooms to imbed technology into the curriculum. The GIFTS program continues to gain increasing favor with Ashland families, as each campaign brings in $2,000-3,000 for future teacher grants. We look forward to implementing our GIFTS program each December and June, and especially to awarding Teacher Grants throughout the year! 2008-2009 In Fall of 2008 Cindy Hoyle moved on to other roles in the community and Diana Harotian became the new President of the AEFI. In spring 2008, Staples Corporation once again generously sponsored our Teacher Grant Awards and Fundraising Dinner at their home offices in Framingham. We raised over $6,500 in ticket sales, silent auction items and a heads/tails raffle for future teacher grant awards. In 2008 we awarded over $16,500 in grants. We also began fundraising for the following innovative programs:
The GIFTS program continues to thrive, even in these lean times. Supporters contributed over $3,000 in the December 2008 Holiday GIFTS program, an increase of 30% over the previous year! We are very grateful to all those who understand the need to keep education supported and build a strong future for all of Ashland’s children. In the spring of 2009, the Teacher Grant Awards and Fundraising Dinner was held at the Ashland High School. In 2009 we awarded 8 grants for over $13,300. 2010-2011 In spring 2010, Staples Corporation once again generously sponsored our Teacher Grant Awards and Fundraising Dinner at their home offices in Framingham. We raised over $7,800 in ticket sales, silent auction items and a heads/tails raffle for future teacher grant awards. In 2010 we awarded 10 grants for over $12,400. We also began fundraising for the following:
The GIFTS program continues to exceed expectations. The 2010 holiday campaign raised a record-breaking $4,025, recognizing 145 educators. We are very grateful to all those who understand the need to keep education supported and build a strong future for all of Ashland’s children. Several volunteers who had worked diligently over the years, including Diana Harotian, Maureen Wiencek, Melanie Hay, Cindy Hoyle, Cece Doucette, and Julian Doktor moved on to other commitments in 2010. In the spring of 2010 former PTO President Heather Keaveny stepped forward to run the GIFTS Program, and former Selectman Adam Shuster took over as Treasurer and tax preparer. In December two more board members were added: parent Maribeth Morrissey as President and parent Leslie Marci as Capital Campaign Manager. In June parent Marcy Arms joined as Publicity Manager and parent Deborah Leone joined as Secretary. In March of 2011 we began fundraising for the following:
In April 2011, we held our 8th Annual Gala and Teacher Grants Award Ceremony here in town. We doubled the number of attendees and raised over $21,000 in ticket sales, silent auction items and raffles for future teacher grant awards. In 2011 we awarded 11 grants for over $15,100. The Ashland Education Foundation, Inc. has been organized as a non-profit corporation under Mass. General Law's Chapter 180, exclusively for charitable and educational purposes within the meaning of Section 501 (c) (3) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1954. |
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