Annual Fund

The Garrison Mill Educational Foundation (GMEF) needs your generous support. GMEF is a non-profit, parent-driven fundraising organization, whose mission is to enrich the educational experience of students at Garrison Mill by funding programs beyond what is in the school’s budget.

2012-2013 goals (based on the parent survey and administration and teacher input):

• Enhance curriculum with more in-house and offsite, grade-specific field trips. Providing more hands-on learning in school, and giving our children offsite learning experiences makes learning effective and fun!

• Install and maintain a school garden, which ties into the science and math curriculum. Students can learn about the life cycles of butterflies, chart the growth of plants, and learn about the local food movement…all from Garrison Mill’s courtyard.

• Provide teacher training to support the Common Core Curriculum. Providing for teachers’ continuing education ultimately leads to better education of our children.

• Support the school’s technology needs that cannot be met with the school budget. Technology is expensive, and is outdated more quickly than the County replaces it, or it is not provided at all. Digital cameras, headsets with integrated microphones, a second computer lab, and software licenses have all been funded by the Foundation.

• Create a reserve as a starting point for a STEM Lab (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math). The science curriculum is expected to undergo changes in the near future, which will necessitate capital expenditures not currently in the budget. Most other elementary schools in the area already have Science or STEM labs. Additionally, we need to purchase science-based resources for classroom use this year.

We are launching an Annual Fund Drive based on overwhelming support voiced on the GM parent survey and best practices from elementary school Foundations. Benefits of a successful “one-check fundraising strategy”:

• 100% of the money you donate will be put directly to use at GM on these initiatives. This is unlike Boosterthon, where we received only 52 % of the money raised; or Spirit Nights, where generally 10% of sales go back to Garrison Mill .

• You will not be solicited for multiple, smaller donations throughout the school year.

• Many families will be able to take advantage of their employer’s matching contributions. This makes a bigger impact and brings in funds from outside the parent community.

• Pay easily at Sneak-a-peek using a check, credit card, or PayPal account

You are able to make a donation by using the PayPal button on the right, or by mailing in your donation using the Donation Form 2012.