The WJCC Schools Foundation is kicking off its 10th anniversary with an event to raise funds and awareness for all the organization does to support educators in the school system.
The foundation, launched in 2015 by the Williamsburg-James City County School Board, is a nonprofit organization that collaborates with local businesses and community members to provide resources that enrich teaching, inspire learning and maximize opportunities to help WJCC Schools educate its students.
After the COVID-19 pandemic impacted fundraising efforts, the foundation’s board is hoping the inaugural event — “An Evening on the Lawn” — on Oct. 9 will help ramp up community support for public schools.
“There was a lot of excitement when the foundation first began and growth has been steady ever since,” said Lauren Harris, co-chair of the event. “We want to help bring more great things to the school division.”
Harris, the mother of an eighth grader and a fourth grader, joined the foundation’s board earlier this year. She is heading up the fundraiser with Traci Simons, who has children in 10th grade and in first grade.
The casual event, which is sold-out, will be held at William & Mary’s business school and feature a silent auction, music and a catered dinner.
“This is a large attempt to raise awareness of what we do and bring in a new set of families we hope will get involved with helping our public schools,” Simons said.
The foundation supports the school system through three signature programs, the biggest of which is the annual “Dream and Do” innovative learning grant program. All educators can apply through Nov. 7 for funding for educational projects to enrich classroom learning. The grants, which range from $50 to $4,000, help support new innovative programs that enhance student achievement and will be awarded in January.
“Our goal is to support the public schools and a big part of that is by supporting our teachers,” Harris said. “We want them to be passionate about what they do, enjoy coming to work every day and think outside of the box about projects that will get their students excited and motivated to learn.”
The foundation also offers a teacher supply shop to alleviate the burden on teachers of having to use their own money to supplement classroom needs. And each spring, one deserving teacher and support staff member from each school is awarded cash as part of the Impact Awards program.
Like so many nonprofit organizations, the WJCC Schools Foundation is still rebounding after losing many corporate partnerships as a result of the pandemic. Harris and Simons view the event they are planning as a new beginning.
“We want people to leave the event and talk about it long afterward and come back again year after year,” Simons said.
The pair is also hoping to fulfill the vision of the foundation’s late board chair, Penny Pulley, a long-time public schools’ advocate who died unexpectedly earlier this year.
“Her passion is still fueling this board and we really want to make her proud,” Harris said. “She helped set us up over the last ten years and we’re really excited to see where the next ten years takes us.”
For more information on WJJC Schools Foundation, visit wjccschoolsfoundation.org.
Brandy Centolanza, bcentolanza@cox.net