Marcia Day, president of the Athens City Schools Foundation, took time out of her busy schedule Thursday, Sept. 19, to surprise various teachers at Athens Middle and High School who were searching for ways to expand the educational opportunities for their students.
Day, who had already stopped by Athens Intermediate School earlier in the week, will continue to make the rounds to the other schools within the district in the coming days — as she hand delivers each and every penny of $29,000.
“This is just one of the many ways we want to help support teachers and students,” Day told The News Courier Thursday. “This year alone, we had 90 applications for these grants. Unfortunately, we were not able to fund that many, but we were able to raise a substantial amount in grants this year, which we will give out to as many teachers as we possibly can.”
Since it was created in 1996, as a 501c3 nonprofit organization, the foundation has relied on the private donations of local individuals and businesses. According to Day, Athens Utility has added the option for all of their members to donate as little as $1 on all of their monthly utility bills to the foundation.
“I remember we started off with grants in the $7,000 to $8,000 dollar range, so you can see how we have managed to raise that amount over the years,” Day said. “Teachers are always telling me how they could not have done their jobs without the support of the foundation. As a former teacher myself, I can tell you how hard it is to pay out of pocket for materials and supplies for your classroom. That’s why we do the grant program, and we can only hope it continues to grow year after year.”
The extra hundreds of dollars each teacher received will help fund new innovative lessons, which will help the local students earn a more enriched educational experience.
For example, Shannon Humphrey — who teaches special needs students in the SOAR program at Athens Middle School — applied for a grant that will cover the cost of cooking supplies which will be used in the application of beneficial life skills.
“It’s very important for our students to learn real life skills, and something as simple as cooking, to make them feel more independent and confident in their abilities,” Humphrey said. “A big part of our job is to set them up for not just now, but the future, and we need resources to help with that. Surprisingly, there’s not a lot of grants out there that provide that kind of money, so to have the foundation means the world to us.”
The importance of the foundation and their grant program was also emphasized by Carla Parker, an assistant principal at Athens High School, who spoke highly of both the nonprofit organization and the giving community they represent.
“Having actual resources and funding, like these grants provide, is so vital to the work our teachers do,” Davis told The News Courier after accepting the high school’s grant Thursday. “Athens is a great community, and to have their support is just awesome. As we pour into our students and give them everything they need to be successful, they pour right back into us and give us everything we need to be successful as well. This is truly a win, win relationship where the future of Athens and our educational system comes out on top.”