Foundation seeks money for students
Published 12:33 pm Thursday, December 11, 2008
Enumclaw launches program similar to many in the region
By Brenda Sexton
The Courier-Herald
In her position with a Bellevue-based business, Linda Atkins saw firsthand how the Bellevue Schools Foundation worked in the community. She saw how the private, non-profit organization raised money for educational programs and established a mentor program with community members.
She wanted her students and others in the Enumclaw School District to have those same benefits.
"I thought it was such a great thing," Atkins said. "I can't think of a cause I'd rather support than our kids and their education. I just really want to see our kids have some of the opportunities kids in other districts have."
During the fall, Atkins and a handful of others formed the Enumclaw Schools Foundation, to raise private funds to support educational programs among Enumclaw's public schools. The board's first fund-raising event is a concert set for 7 p.m. March 29 at the Enumclaw High School auditorium.
Establishing a foundation to support schools is not a new concept. As school purse strings tighten, the numbers are growing.
There are close to 30 in the Puget Sound area. The Bellevue Schools Foundation was created in 1979.
"More and more school districts are doing this," said Nancy Merrill, who is a member of the "founding" Enumclaw Schools Foundation board.
"It covers the gaps that are created in programs due to a lack in funding," added Bill Jensen, also part of the founding board.
"It provides something for the extras," Atkins said. "The things that would be difficult to fund otherwise."
Right now, Jensen and Atkins are the only "non-school district" members on the board. Assistant superintendent Mike Nelson, curriculum director Chris Beals and business director Tim Madden round out the board. The plan, Atkins said, is to bring a broader base of interested community members on board to manage the foundation and its funding and phase out the district representatives.
"We all feel that's the appropriate way to go," Atkins said.
The Enumclaw Schools Foundation has adopted its bylaws and became a non-profit corporation in January. The organization is currently running under the chamber's Community Enhancement Foundation until it's own federal tax exempt status is complete. According to Atkins, it will be a separate entity from the school district and, unlike PTAs, it will encompass the entire school district.
"There are many communities that already have foundations," Atkins said. "In some respects we're finding we're behind the curve."
During its 25-year history, the Bellevue Schools Foundation has raised more than $9 million for programs that reach more than 15,700 students every year.
"I don't have any illusions that we will be that big," Atkins said. "Although it is a vision of what a community can do. How successful it becomes depends on us."
Enumclaw Schools Foundation board members are hoping the initial fund-raising effort will get the wheels rolling. The board has outlined secondary school orchestral equipment and a science curriculum as its initial priorities.
Staying on that note, the first fund-raising event is a musical evening featuring the high-energy, Seattle-based, strings-and-piano trio Finisterra. The evening will also offer performances by the Enumclaw School District's Magic Strings students and middle and high school orchestra programs.
According to a press release, Finisterra, whose name means "the ends of the Earth," is composed of Kwan Bin Park from Seoul, Korea, on violin; Kevin Krentz from Atlanta on cello and Natalya Kalendarev from Moscow on piano.
The group plays classical music with a dramatic playing style. Krentz, who plays frequent gigs with rock bands and serves as Finisterra spokesperson, said where popular music is often the soundtrack to accompany our lives, classical music is the reaction and reflection on our lives.
Finisterra's performers came together at the University of Washington School of Music. In 2003, they began working together under the name Finisterra and are gaining popularity. They have performed for the Seattle Chamber Music Festival, Methow Valley Music Festival and at various Northwest universities. In 2004, they won the Silver Medal at the Zinetti International Chamber Music competition in Verona, Italy, and will begin a European and United States tour later this year.
Tickets are $15. For those interested in offering support without attending the concert, a raffle for local gift items is also taking place. Those tickets are $2 a piece. For information about the foundation or for tickets call 360-802-7142.
Brenda Sexton can be reached at bsexton@cmg-northwest2.go-vip.net/courierherald.
