Education foundation begins telephone fundraising drive

"The Foundation is hosting a Fall Community Drive this year as we have moved our largest fundraiser, the Gorge Grape Escape, from February 2010 to fall 2010," said WSVEF President Anne-Marie Slater. "The phone-a-thon will help bridge this gap. We wanted to give the entire community a chance to join in and support our schools."

Student and community volunteers will do the dialing. Windermere Real Estate of Bingen has donated its office space to serve as a call center, and for those of you with caller I.D., phone-a-thon volunteers' calls will show up as coming from the Windermere office.

If you don't receive a call, you can also participate by dropping by the Harvest Market/Thriftway on drive days to make a pledge, calling the Foundation at (509) 493-1175, or visiting www.wsvef.org.

"We're hoping those we haven't touched yet will reach out and touch us during this drive. In these tight budgetary environments our educators need any resources that our community can offer," said Slater.

The WSVEF has given a total of $144,000 to White Salmon Valley District schools since its 2006 inception. The Foundation's Grant Writing Committee has brought in another $56,000 for school programs, and an endowment fund is in place to continue bi-annual grants into the future.

"The district is grateful for the Education Foundation's contributions of $30,000 so far this year, with the potential of another $20,000 for teacher grant opportunities," said Interim District Superintendent Jerry Lewis. "These funds will greatly benefit all our students during a very unpredictable state budgetary year."

The WSVEF is a 501(c)3 non-profit corporation dedicated to enhancing the quality of public education within the local community by creating a stable source of supplemental funding for curriculum enhancement and investment in our teachers.

For more information, visit www.wsvef.org, or call (509) 493-1175.