The Franklin Education Foundation (FEF) this month marks 25 years of supporting Franklin schools. To commemorate the milestone, the FEF is looking back at the numerous programs its efforts have helped make possible – from the first Empty Bowls project at Franklin High to the purchase of ukuleles for fifth-grade music students. Birthday festivities include a special fundraising campaign to propel the organization into its next quarter-century.
Since its founding in 1997, the FEF has awarded grants to educators seeking to innovate in ways that fall out outside of traditional school budgeting processes. FEF volunteers screen applications and work with district administrators to select projects deemed most worthwhile in that particular grant-review cycle. To date, the FEF has provided in excess of $350,000 for such projects.
“The Franklin Education Foundation was established to provide district-wide fundraising of benefit to all schools under the leadership of the Franklin School Committee,” said Pandora Carlucci, one of the organization's co-founders. “Grant proposals selected for funding covered the costs of creative, innovative, educational programs that were not included in the traditional school budget.”
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| Left to Right: Roberta Trahan, Mary Kroon, Lisa Brady, Dave McNeill, Phil Sweeney, Pandora Carlucci, Rick Lacroix, and Krishna Shetty |
To fund the grants, the FEF has relied on donors large and small. Generous individuals and businesses have enabled the foundation to fund projects in each of the town’s schools. Examples include an ecology project in which students conducted field research on the well-being of aquatic and terrestrial habitats surrounding Franklin High School, assistance to seventh-graders at Annie Sullivan Middle School with astronomy studies, books for Remington Middle School students to study ancient Greek myths, and math boxes so that students at Kennedy Elementary School could practice math concepts at home with their parents.
To continue its efforts in support of these sorts of programs, the FEF is asking for the community’s financial support this month. In the spirit of the Day of Giving tradition, the organization is conducting a campaign lasting 25 days as part of its 25th birthday celebration. Franklin residents are asked to make a gift via the foundation’s website at franklined.org/get-involved/donate This 25 days of giving fundraising campaign kicks off May 4, which is the birthday of Horace Mann, the Franklin native who championed quality public education for all.
With the support of the community, the FEF can build on its achievements and help educators and students continue to thrive.
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| Franklin Education Foundation celebrates birthday with 25 days of giving |
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