As a major building project is showing progress on the Houston School District campus, a local foundation is preparing to launch a campaign next month to help fill classrooms with laptops.
The Houston Education Foundation (HEF) announced this week it will participate in two efforts to aid the local school district. The foundation — formed to help the district meet needs that otherwise might not be funded — has been selected to participate in a Community Foundation of the Ozarks $5,000 matching grant for its endowments. Fifty affiliates of the organization applied and 24 were selected to participate, including the local one.
For the Houston foundation, that means every dollar given up to $5,000 will be matched to aid the local school district. Organizers said the opportunity helps the local school district during a time of fluctuating federal and state funding and helps give local students needed resources that are already available in areas of the state that have much higher local taxing bases.
The foundation works with the Houston School District to help address its needs and have a measureable impact on the educational achievements of district students.
The foundation is soliciting help from the business and manufacturing communities to meet the challenge. All contributions are tax-deductible. Monies must be received by April 20 to submit to Community Foundation of the Ozarks by the deadline.
In the past, the Houston Education Foundation, which was chartered in 2006, has provided funds for a new sound system, risers for the choir, art cabinets and some middle school classrooms received tables and chairs to enhance learning in specific areas.
MAY 5 EVENT
The second part of the drive is the education foundation’s participation in the first-ever Give Ozarks 24-hour day of giving on May 5, an undertaking of the Community Foundation of the Ozarks, which has 45 affiliates in the Ozarks that include 600 nonprofit partners and schools.
HEF will have the opportunity to raise funds, complete for matches and prizes and be part of a one-day surge across the state as part of the national Give Local America Day.
Funds raised during the day — the website is giveozarks.org — will be used to generate the $25,000 goal for laptop computers for the new media/library center under construction at the Houston School District, said Kathy Hutcheson, a member of the local foundation. In April 2013, district patrons approved a bond issue for upgrading buildings, connecting the high school and middle school and constructing a new library. A major upgrade to the cafeteria was completed earlier.
In addition to the school, the Texas County Memorial Hospital Foundation was selected for its Youth Ambassador program. Both organizations will host the chamber noon luncheon on that day on the TCMH campus. Additionally, HEF will highlight its mission during a 2-5 p.m. event at the Lone Star Plaza in downtown Houston.
Hutcheson said members of the local foundation, led by Dr. Joe Richardson, hope both events will raise awareness about the group’s mission of offering a hand to the district. Year around, it is able to accept memorial donations, provide a mechanism for persons who want to include the district in a trust and qualifies as a charitable donation for patrons who want to give to the school.
How you can help: Send checks to the Houston Education Foundation, P.O. Box 102, Houston, Mo. 65483. On May 5, go to the website, giveozarks.org. Watch a video with this story at houstonherald.com.