SAN ANGELO SCHOOLS FOUNDATION RAISES MORE THAN $61,000 AT ANNUAL FUNDRAISER

The San Angelo Schools Foundation held their annual fundraising event “Bid & Boogie” on March 26th raising over $61,000 to go toward the Schools Foundation’s two major projects supporting San Angelo ISD: Grants to Teachers and Scholarships to Students. The San Angelo Schools Foundation was established in 1989 with the goal to support innovative academic opportunities for children of San Angelo ISD. SAISD extends our appreciation and gratitude to the members of the Schools Foundation for their hard work and dedication in putting together a great fundraising event, and commends the Schools Foundation’s long-standing support of public education.

“The San Angelo Schools Foundation consistently goes above and beyond in efforts to help our District improve the lives of SAISD children and support our educators in developing innovative work in the classroom to provide a relevant and inspiring education,” said SAISD Superintendent Dr. Carl Dethloff. “We appreciate the time, effort and dedication of each of the Foundation members and the collaborative relationship with the District. SAISD looks forward to seeing the great ideas that are generated from the funds raised at the event. The spirit of giving is alive and well in San Angelo thanks to the philanthropy and dedication of our Schools Foundation.” 

The annual fundraising event was held at Cain’s Cove venue and banquet hall, and featured a dinner by Reyna’s Tacos and a live and silent auction. The live auction was led by Central High School 2019 graduate Dawson Cowen.

“It is so important that we come together as a community to show our support for the school district, our teachers, and our students,” said Schools Foundation President Carolee Galban. “They need to know our community is full of individuals and businesses who are cheering them on, and want to see them continue to accomplish great things.”

The Schools Foundation Grants to Teachers program works to support SAISD teachers by providing classroom grants and all-campus grants with the hope of enriching the education of SAISD students. The Schools Foundation began awarding teacher grants in 1989, and as of November 2020, has awarded a total of over $646,000 since its inception.

For over thirty years, the Schools Foundation has been making special projects like Science Technology Engineering Math (STEM) camps, Osmo interactive game systems for iPads, BAM (Books a Month) literacy initiative, and percussion instruments for special needs students possible by providing critical funding. This year, SAISD teachers and all-campus grant awardees were awarded funds by the Schools Foundation to bring a number of projects and resources to SAISD campuses including: 

• An innovator lab supporting Tinkercad, Merge Cubes and 3d Printing;
• A community garden;
• Chromebooks;
• Coding robots;
• Individual STEM stations; 
• A sensory path; 
• High-interest e-books; 
• Science manipulatives; 
• Read-aloud books for math; 
• Storybooks for science;
• Musical books and instruments; and more.

The Schools Foundation extends gratitude to all of the “Bid and Boogie” event sponsors and community partners that contributed to the success of the event including the following Multi-Platinum, Platinum and Gold Sponsors: Gandy Ink, Lone Star Beef Processors, L.P., Law Offices of Beesley & Albert, Von Rosenberg Custom Homes, Aylor Landscaping, Quick Roofing, San Angelo Area Foundation, First Financial Bank of San Angelo, Joni and Lanny Layman, CalTech, Harrison Roofing, Carol and Jimmy Barton, 3 Boyd Ranch and Texas Bank.

Current Board members for the Schools Foundation are President-elect Liz Albert, Jennifer Biggs, Richele Boyd, Krista Bradley, Treasurer Olivia Carrasco, Elizabeth Chambers, Davy David, Fundraiser Chair Amy Dougan, Treasurer-Elect Sarah Duncan, Jackie Evatt, Javier Flores, President Carolee Galban, Marissa Giesecke, Katy George, Krispin Graves, Secretary Lauren Harper, Colleen Heartsill, Mackenzie Holik, Courtney Mahaffey, Courtney Nagel, Renee Orr, Cori Stewart, Teri Thomason, Robyn Trainer and Executive Director Christine Kolls. The Chairs for the “Bid and Boogie” 2021 event are Amy Dougan and Krispin Graves.

The Schools Foundation will be participating San Angelo Gives on May 4th, and invites supporters to join in their campaign efforts. San Angelo Gives is a powerful, annual 24-hour, online giving event that connects the Concho Valley with community nonprofits to reinforce the value of both local philanthropic giving and community engagement.

For more information about the San Angelo Schools Foundation and how to join in their mission, visit www.saschoolsfoundation.org or like and follow the Schools Foundation Facebook page.