The Vandalia-Butler Foundation will award $19,858 in new educational grants this year and disburse an additional $6,500 in previously approved awards for innovative classroom initiatives in the Vandalia-Butler City Schools.
The grants support a dozen initiatives — from band instruments and a classroom library to adaptive swings for students with special needs and Indianapolis Children’s Museum tickets for elementary school students.
VISIONS: An Eye for the Future Fund primarily funded the grants, with significant contributions from the Arts Revitalizing Team (ART) Fund Endowment, Mary Ann Wietzel (“What’s in It for Kids?) Endowment, Vandalia-Butler Alumni Association, Abbey Credit Union, RB Jergens, Minster Bank and the American Legion. Special thanks to the family and friends of the late Steve Mahoney, who taught art for 35 years in the Vandalia-Butler City Schools, for a $3,500 donation to VISIONS.
“These grants are providing enhanced learning opportunities for hundreds of children. They’re providing students with better access to technology and the arts, and they’re helping those with special needs,” said Denise Eder, who chairs the Vandalia-Butler Foundation’s education committee. “We’re so grateful to all the individuals, families and businesses who generously donated to VISIONS over the past year. You’re investing in the education of our community’s children.”
Here are the awards:
- $7,358 to Morton Middle School — $3,558 for band percussion instruments (funded by the ART Fund and the American Legion); $2,500 for Positive Behavioral Support (PBIS) program rewards; and $1,300 for materials for an eighth grade reading classroom.
- $5,504 to Butler High School — $2,750 for band bells, a stand and xylophone replacements (funded by Abbey Credit Union); $2,000 for materials for the Drone Technology and Design course for the Project Lead the Way STEM program; and $754 for a tardy tracking system.
- $4,000 to K-8 art classes — funding for display materials for the annual spring K-8 Art Show (with partial support from Minster Bank and American Legion #668).
- $3,000 to Smith Middle School — technology upgrades for the planetarium.
- $2,000 to Vandalia-Butler Preschool — new books for a teacher resource library to support early learning and literacy (funded by the Vandalia-Butler Alumni Association).
- $1,836 to Demmitt Elementary School and Smith Middle School — adaptive playground swings for students with special needs.
- $1,500 to Demmitt Elementary School — books for a book vending machine, part of the PBIS program that promotes literacy.
- $1,160 to Helke Elementary School — partial funding for a third-grade trip to the Indianapolis Children’s Museum as part of the school’s STEM and history curricula (funded through the Mary Ann Wietzel Endowment).
Since 2002, more than $260,000 has been granted or committed to support learning opportunities for students in the district.
“An all-volunteer committee of community leaders has worked diligently to raise the awareness and funds needed to support classroom teachers in our district. I’m especially grateful to Greg Toman, the committee’s former chair, who is deeply committed and helps coordinate much of our fundraising efforts behind the scenes,” Eder said.
For those wishing to make a contribution to the VISIONS Fund, tax-deductible donations can be mailed to VISIONS Fund, c/o The Dayton Foundation, 1401 S. Main St., Suite 100, Dayton, OH 45409-2600. To make an online donation, visit vandalia-butlerfoundation.org/visions.
The Vandalia-Butler Foundation and its funds are components of The Dayton Foundation. Leadership for The Vandalia-Butler Foundation rests in our own community, while fiscal oversight of our funds is maintained by The Dayton Foundation, which serves the Dayton/Miami Valley area. This partnership allows for the Vandalia-Butler community to benefit from local leadership and profit from resources pooled with others for investment growth.