The WiSH Education Foundation already got to work on its New Year’s Resolution for 2018: Raise $100,000 to support and update all of the William S. Hart Union High School District libraries.
With the funds, the WiSH Foundation plans to update reading material, enhance technology options and encourage learning through new media in all of the district’s libraries.
“Everything that we have is going to go into the libraries, different schools require different upgrades so that will be a case-by-case basis,” WiSH Education Foundation Executive Director Amy Daniels said. “We want to make sure that every student in every school has every item they need in a library.”
This is the first time in nearly 10 years that the Hart District will receive outside funding to support its libraries, according to the WiSH Education Foundation.
With its new fundraising campaign, the foundation hopes to revamp facilities that act as a “safe haven” for the district’s 23,000 students and provide them with guidance, supervision and encouragement.
“Libraries play a vital role for kids at school,” Daniels said. “Unfortunately a lot of the reading material and research material is out of date and we need to upgrade and maintain those for our students.”
The WiSH Education Foundation kicked off its fundraising campaign in mid-December when Jersey Mike’s Subs donated a portion of its proceeds from the first five days of its new store opening at the Plaza at Golden Valley.
“They have raised over $9,500 already toward our goal to raise $100,000 for public school libraries,” Daniels said.
The Foundation is also the primary beneficiary of the 2018 SCV Charity Chili Cook-Off in March.
“All of the funds raised through that will go to the libraries as well,” Daniels said.
With these donors, and with help from the community, Daniels and the WiSH Education Foundation hope to reach their goal before summer of this year.
“We would like to do it during this coming semester at school,” Daniels said. “So by the time the kids leave school in June we’d like to see all of our funds raised.”
Individuals can make a tax-deductible donation to WiSH Education Foundation’s Library Fundraiser here: https://wisheducationfoundation.org/help-our-libraries/
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