Foundation makes its mark

By Susan Gibbs Record Reporter
Published: August 21, 2008

In the two years it has been in existence, the Greene Education Foundation (GEF) has become an organization of influence in the County.
“We are energizing teachers by what we’re doing,“ says Pauline Hovey, a freelance writer-editor, who is president of the Foundation’s Board of Directors.
Operating independently of the School Board, GEF has raised more than $25,000 to enhance teaching methods, fund scholarships and upgrade facilities. It is the brainchild of Hovey and Tom Evans, who both say they think more needs to be done for the school district.
Hovey says she started GEF because “the needs of the teachers and education in the County weren’t being met due to the County’s limited budget.“
Evans, who is vice-president of the foundation’s Board, will be retiring at the end of this school year after having taught in Greene for 30 years. He agrees with Hovey: “Greene County has had to make do with less since I’ve been here.“
According to definition, education foundations are privately-operated charitable organizations established to assist public schools. They are designed to augment, supplement, or compliment programs and activities currently being provided by the school district.
Sitting on GEF’s Board with Hovey and Evans are Secretary Jean Pearson and Treasurer Annette Staples. A five-member decision-making executive committee, selected by the Board, plans the group’s strategies and initiatives, reviews its budget, and makes decisions regarding its goals and general operations.
GEF has earned the support of Greene’s School District.
School Board Chairman Darcy Higgins considers the nonprofit group a valuable asset. “Its (officers) attend our meetings and ask us for input,“ Higgins says.
And Superintendent of Schools Dave Jeck says he backs it “150 percent.“
“(GEF) supports initiatives that fall outside the school budget … that ultimately benefit students,“ he says.
It was a letter-writing campaign that got the group off the ground two years ago, Hovey says. Contributions enabled GEF to award about a half-dozen $500 Creative Instructional Grants for 2006-2007, and 11 such grants for the 2007-2008 school year.
The grants - offered to the County’s public school teachers and student organizations - are meant to encourage teachers to enhance their instructional programs.
Ruckersville Elementary School Teacher Judy Holder was the recipient of one of the grants. In years past, Holder has spent up to $1,000 of her own money on materials that enhanced her programs.
Last year she used her grant money to purchase digital cameras for her first, second and third grade students to use for, among other things, the creation of books they published last year. 
The grants provided by GEF, says Holder, “make Standards of Learning fun, not just a drill. (The ability to be creative) makes me want to come to school every day and makes children want to come into my classroom.“
Other grants provided for the following: a classroom library system and a reading motivator program, a color printer for publishing students’ work, a laptop computer and Investigations mathematical thinking materials at the Greene County Primary School. The grants enabled an electronic field trip to Williamsburg and materials for theater and music programs at Nathanael Greene Elementary School.
In addition to Holder’s cameras, grants provided the Ruckersville Elementary School with costumes for a program that promotes reading by having students perform as the characters living in the time period they are studying. And, at William Monroe High School, the grants enabled Dance Revolution, a program to help promote adolescents’ interest in physical health and well-being.
In the meantime, GEF was becoming a magnet for contributions.
In October, Spring Hill Baptist Church held a five-kilometer race at the Blue Ridge School that enabled a $5,000 donation to the foundation.
By the end of school last spring, a private donor had given $3,000 to the group’s scholarship fund to finance three $1,000 scholarships to seniors aiming to further their education.
And the foundation kept on raising money.
On Memorial Weekend, Spring Hill Baptist Church sponsored Tour de Greene - a five-kilometer race, bike ride, and family fun benefit. GEF’s share of the proceeds added another $1,700 to its coffers.
“We plan to do more,“ says Spring Hill Baptist Church Pastor Dan Carlton. “The only question is when.“
And, the Discover Virginia Music & Wine Festival, to be held Saturday and Sunday, August 30 and 31 will benefit the group. It will receive a guaranteed $1,500 of the proceeds from the Festival, plus a percentage of the profits.
Chairman of the Greene County Economic Development Authority Board of Directors Willis Logan says: “(The foundation) has been and will be a fabulous partner with (the Festival). It provides help with marketing … (and) … volunteers.“
Now, the Foundation is spreading its wings. It is raising money to benefit the Raymond C. Dingledine Performing Arts Center at William Monroe High School, which, Hovey says, “needs new sound and lighting systems, seats and curtains.“
To that end, GEF is accepting donations and in October will present a “Showcase of Greene Talent,” featuring students in Greene’s public school system, to benefit the project.