Donor Appreciation Luncheon

As part of my new responsibilities on the Executive Board of the Jordan Education Foundation, I was asked to Chair this years  Donor Appreciation Luncheon  

I have to say, I literally have the BEST committee ever.  They are rock-star amazing.  We started pulling ideas together a few months ago, and the event went off actually better than I even imgained. 

Our theme for this year - 

LIFT:We Rise Together

Guests were welcomed by an beautiful hot air balloon tied down in the parking lot. (I was there when it was being set up, but never left the building again until after it ws gone) 

We had a meet & greet in the Exhibition Hall with booths that showcased the different programs that the Jordan Education Foundation supports within our district:

-Principal Pantry's in all 67 schools with food, hygience kits, weekend packs, clothes, schoes, dance dresses, blamekts, coats, hats, gloves, backpacks, school supplies, etc

-Classroom Grants - this we we gave out over $375.000.00 in classroom grants to teachers in our district (I love to hear and see what they use the grant $ for)

-Wellness Rooms - provides a designated room within a school for students and/or staff to relax & regroup as needed throughout the day.  These rooms have fully trained staff in them and we have found that every school with a wellness room has seen a dramatic drop in principal office visits.

-After School Programs including Unified Sounds and Unified Sports - which partners student mentors with speical needs students to partcipate in band, orchestra, soccer, basketball, or track. 

-STEM Projects - the foundation is now offereing STEM scholarships in the form of my529 accounts for 8th grade students planning to pursue a career in Science or Technology; so happy to see this program added

-BED'R Home for Kids - Anothr new prgram this year; we can now provide beds, bedding & pillows to students & families in needs. Our goal is that every child in our district is able to sleep in their very own bed at night. 

-Outstanding Educator Awards - We have been recognizing 1 outstanding educator from every school for many years, but the past 2 years we have really ramped things up to celebrate teachers by doing home visits or impromtu school visits and completely catching them off guard.  We secretly invite their family, friends, collegues and surpise them with balloons, a beautiful crystal award,  a check that that are not to spend on their students or classroom, andmost importantly the special people in their lives that love and support them in their teaching.  We've had people fly in from all over the country to be apart of it, and it brings such a sense of unity and joy to the whole school.  

-Student Scholarships - Principals nominate 1 vhigh school students who has overcome obstacles and challenges during their life to receieve a $2,000 college scholarship. The recipients of these awards are amazing and there is never a dry eye in the room when their families, teachers, mentors, & friends gather to honor them with this scholarship.

-Christmas for Kids  - Each December we are able to give 500 students a chance to shop for Chirstmas gifts with a member of the community with a prepaid gift card provided by our generous donors.  It is a huge event that takes place at a local Walmart store and it is baout the funnest 4 hours of the entire Christmas season, Santa is there givig out free donuts and bananas. Everynoe is shopping and looking for the perfet gifts.  Community members love having a chance to shop 1-on-1 with a high school students and get to know them a little better.  It is all around such a fabulous event!

ALL of these programs are made possible by those who so generously contribute to the Foundation!!!

This luncheon was a way to say THANK YOU and for them to see how their donations are used to benefit and bless the lives os so many in our area. 

We had personalized stationary sets created for each of our 160 guests, and the quote printed on the bottom reads:

"There is no exercise better for the heart than reaching down and lifting people up" 

-John Holmes

Everything we do with in the Foundation is to LIFT others, and what we've found is that LIFTING others lifts us up and the more people involved in that lifting the more able we all are to RISE together.