Helke Early Learning Center has received $6,500 in grants from the Vandalia-Butler Foundation, primarily through its VISIONS Fund, to buy AAC (Augmentative and Alternative Communication) devices and new library books.
“Minster Bank has been a supporter of Visions and the schools since we opened our Butler Township location. We are delighted to designate our donation this year to support the communication needs of our youngest Aviators,” said Joel K. Bopp, senior commercial lender about the bank’s $2,000 donation.
The AAC devices, which support speech and language development, were partially funded by $2,500 from an anonymous donor.
“The preschool team is excited for a whole new world of communication opportunities that these Augmentative and Alternative Communication (AAC) devices will provide our students, so they can share their needs, wants and ideas with staff and peers,” said Darcy Franck, preschool intervention specialist.
Helke Learning Center also received $2,000 to purchase new books for a teacher resource library to support early learning and literacy, funded by grants from VISIONS and the Mary Ann Wietzel (“What’s In It For Kids?”) Endowment.
“The preschool team is so thankful for our grants We are excited to continue to build our classroom libraries with meaningful and intentional children’s literature that helps our tiniest Aviators build an early foundation of literacy skills and a love for reading,” said Lauren Bollheimer, preschool intervention specialist
In all, the Vandalia-Butler Foundation awarded a record-breaking $31,314 in educational grants in 2025 for innovative classroom initiatives in the Vandalia-Butler City Schools.
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 is a component fund 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.
(Pictured l to r, top row: Denise Eder, co-chair of the Vandalia-Butler Foundation, Brian Tregoning, principal of Helke Early Learning Center, and Darcy Franck, preschool intervention specialist. Bottom row: Helke Early Learning Center students and Joel K. Bopp, senior commercial lender for Minster Bank. Photos by Mary Stephens.)