Shorewood Education Group Kicks Off Fundraising Campaign for Local Schools

Monday night, a group comprised primarily of parent volunteers was conspicuously a-political in its discussion of , citing a 10-year history of consistently dwindling resources to Shorewood schools.

Supporters of Excellence in Educational Development (SEED), a local non-profit educational foundation, met at Alterra in Shorewood and kicked off their annual fundraiser effort and revealed the strategy for tackling .

Called "every family matters, and every gift counts," the goals for the SEED Foundation's new season are to raise a total of $200,000 in donations, with 100 percent of funds coming from local families, to help assist the .

"SEED strives to maintain a level of services at Shorewood schools despite budget cuts," President Melissa Nelsen said. "We provide teacher-requested grants, direct funds to the growing endowment, and give the district a general education fund gift once a year. When money is directed to programs, it goes to those programs. It's really exciting to see that everything is falling into place."

A friend emailed me later, asking, "I pay taxes, why should I also pay cash to fund the schools?"

This is a question that SEED will be helping to answer throughout the information sessions that will be coming. Personally, I think that the state needs to demonstrate that it values education in Wisconsin, but until the funding is there, SEED raises money to make the best of the situation. I also feel strongly that raising funds for a sister school that is in dire need along with our own school district would be something uniquely Shorewoodian in nature. But first things first, getting to know SEED is a good step.

Betsey Pichette, the teacher representative on the SEED board, said, "It's amazing what SEED has provided the schools this past year. The teachers really see the results and are so thrilled."

The new SEED brochure lists a number of categories called "Fund Your Passion," which was started last year to help individuals or groups target their funds to what they feel is important.

• Greatest need/general education fund lets the district decide where to put it;

• Curriculum fund is a gift which supports curriculum and advanced placement, elementary advanced learning programs as well as accelerated and alternative learning;

• Arts education fund provides critically needed support for drama, orchestra, choir and band.

• Health and wellness fund helps physical education including the watershed wisdom program, health programs, guidance services and extracurricular activities;

• Endowment fund offers donors the chance to directly contribute to long-term support for the district.

This brochure went out this past weekend and will be arrive at your door soon if you are a Shorewood parent of a school-age child; it will be posted on the website as well. It's worth a look, and hopefully something will plant the seed to get involved in Shorewood education.