Ladders to Literacy Capital Campaign
At the Spring Lake Rotary Club’s March luncheon, Rotary President David Rhem presented Spring Lake Schools Foundation Capital Campaign Chairman Jonas Saunders with a check for $10,000. In accepting the donation, Saunders announced that the Spring Lake Schools Foundation was using the occasion to kick off its Ladders to Literacy Capital Campaign. “This is the perfect time to announce our campaign since March is Literacy Month. The Foundation is seeking donations to increase its endowment over the next 3 years to the $500,000 level and will be using the money raised to support literacy efforts at all levels in our school system.”
The Rotary Club’s donation, combined with donations from the JSJ Corporation, Shape Corporation, Marion A. and Ruth K. Sherwood Foundation, Saunders Winter McNeil Law Firm, Harbor Industries, the members of the Spring Lake Schools Foundation Board, and an anonymous donor, brings the total contributions to the Foundation to $250,000. “We are half way to our goal thanks to the generosity of our lead gift donors. We greatly appreciate the Spring Lake Rotary Club’s support of the Foundation,” Saunders said in thanking the Rotarians.
The Rotarians' donation was raised through the annual “Rags to Riches” spring raffle. Rhem stated, “The Spring Lake Rotary Club has, in its 50-year existence, been a strong supporter of the Spring Lake Public Schools, and improving literacy has been a point of emphasis for Rotary Clubs worldwide. We are proud to support this important effort in our community and help students gain the skills they need to succeed.”
The Spring Lake Schools Foundation has been in existence for 25 years. It has a long history of supplementing the school district’s available funding to create innovative educational opportunities to maintain and enhance academic excellence. Since early childhood literacy is the #1 predictor of further academic success, the district has embarked on a new process to identify students with reading difficulties at an earlier age. Foundation monies can be used to help assist those students. Additionally, the monies will allow the schools to respond to changing literacy needs as literacy is defined in the future.
For further information on the Spring Lake Schools Foundation, contact the Foundation at 345 Hammond Street in Spring Lake (616-847-7919). The endowment is held at the Grand Haven Area Community Foundation.