Wawasee Raises Over $10K For Cancer Care Fund
February 9, 2022 at 3:21 a.m.
Wawasee Raises Over $10K For Cancer Care Fund
By David [email protected]
During the Wawasee School Board meeting Tuesday evening, Superintendent Dr. Steve Troyer highlighted the fundraiser by All For One, led by senior Devin Van Lue.
Of the $10,200 collected, North Webster Elementary School students and staff “really performed mightily in this campaign. They raised - $5,000 of the $10,000 came from North Webster. They hosted a penny pitch competition among all grade levels,” Troyer said.
Second grade was the winner of the penny pitch contest, raising $2,200.
Board President Don Bokhart asked if there was any reward for the second-graders, acknowledging that the students were doing it for humanitarian reasons.
Troyer said there was a pizza party for them.
North Webster Elementary Principal Lee Snider said the pizza party was provided Tuesday to the second-graders. Custodian Bob Sova donated the pizza in honor of his late wife, Christine, who passed away from cancer. The funds raised for the Cancer Care Fund go to support cancer patients in Kosciusko County, Troyer said.
“A really cool thing happening at North Webster and throughout the entire district,” Troyer said.
Snider said, “It totally took me by shock to have such a great response from our students, but I think Devin and the high school team just did such a great thing by connecting to the Kosciusko County Cancer Care Fund. The fact that it’s local, we’ve had multiple teachers that have been personally affected by that fund and were able to tell stories.”
He said one of the teachers sent a message to her class in second grade and said, “Whatever you guys bring in tomorrow, I’m going to match it.”
She said up to $250. The kids brought in $400. The teacher matched the $400, so her class that day raised $800, Snider said.
Another example of the second grade, he pointed out, was that one student’s grandpa died of cancer. The grandpa had “all these coin jars. He (the student) wanted to donate them to this, so he brought in all these huge jars of coins from his grandpa, who died of cancer, to be able to give back.”
Snider said just some really amazing things happened during the fundraiser.
On Sova buying the pizza for 90 people, Snider said it was “pretty expensive” and Snider tried to talk Sova into letting him help pay for it.
“But he said, ‘I want to do this for my wife. I want to do it to honor her and I want to make sure that all the money the kids raised, every cent of it, goes to Cancer Care and not for pizza,'” Snider said. “So, just really awesome.”
Bokhart said, “I didn’t think I’d almost cry at a board meeting.”
Troyer said he got to work with Van Lue, who had a “whole team of people,” that week. “Really cool things happening at the high school, really cool things throughout the district. It was a fun way to bring the community together. And, I will say, 100% student driven. They had come in and presented it to us during an (administration) meeting, if I recall, a couple months ago and they put this together. They led the whole thing, basically told us what to do, and we executed their plan. It was really cool. Really proud of our young folks and our kids as they worked through that.”
The students reached out and corresponded with all the principals at each of the Wawasee schools for the fundraiser.
In other “good news” for Wawasee, Troyer reported Wawasee Early Learning Centers received a Build, Learn, Grow Stabilization grant totaling $54,800.
“It seems like every other week, (Director of Special Services) Jen (Phillips) is coming to me with some new grant they are seeking or have received, which is awesome. Kudos to her and her team,” Troyer said.
The grant is to provide critical funding to early childhood and school-age providers to support their program’s operating expenses across six categories and help rebuild their programs for the future.
“Wawasee is utilizing these funds to provide all employees working in the program an increase in hourly wage, as well as hiring an Early Learning Program coordinator,” Troyer said.
The second round of grants opens soon and Wawasee Early Learning Centers are hopeful to continue accessing these grants for continued improvement, he said.
He told the Board he really appreciated their support of the Early Learning Program.
“I think it’s truly becoming one of our shining stars in the district, and it’s going to help our incoming students tremendously, as well as filling a need - a really important need - in our community with child care. So we’re really excited about that,” Troyer said.
Board Secretary Rebecca Linnemeier asked if all of Wawasee’s Centers were full.
Phillips said all of their infant and toddler rooms are completely full, with a waiting list. Pre-K at Syracuse and North Webster elementary schools are full. The Milford Center has five seats available, as of Tuesday.
“And we, honestly, haven’t done any marketing,” she said.
“Well done,” Linnemeier stated.
Bokhart pointed out they are “Early Learning Centers” and not day care centers. “It is early learning,” he said.
Troyer said all the Centers have curriculum that they work through. Phillips will give a full presentation to the Board at the April meeting.
Troyer then told the Board the Wawasee Early Learning Centers program also was awarded a $25,000 grant from the Dekko Foundation. The grant will be used to continue the pursuit of expanding and licensing the infant and toddler early learning programs within the corporation.
“Again, lots of great things happening there,” he said.
The Board unanimously approved all the good news presented.
During the Wawasee School Board meeting Tuesday evening, Superintendent Dr. Steve Troyer highlighted the fundraiser by All For One, led by senior Devin Van Lue.
Of the $10,200 collected, North Webster Elementary School students and staff “really performed mightily in this campaign. They raised - $5,000 of the $10,000 came from North Webster. They hosted a penny pitch competition among all grade levels,” Troyer said.
Second grade was the winner of the penny pitch contest, raising $2,200.
Board President Don Bokhart asked if there was any reward for the second-graders, acknowledging that the students were doing it for humanitarian reasons.
Troyer said there was a pizza party for them.
North Webster Elementary Principal Lee Snider said the pizza party was provided Tuesday to the second-graders. Custodian Bob Sova donated the pizza in honor of his late wife, Christine, who passed away from cancer. The funds raised for the Cancer Care Fund go to support cancer patients in Kosciusko County, Troyer said.
“A really cool thing happening at North Webster and throughout the entire district,” Troyer said.
Snider said, “It totally took me by shock to have such a great response from our students, but I think Devin and the high school team just did such a great thing by connecting to the Kosciusko County Cancer Care Fund. The fact that it’s local, we’ve had multiple teachers that have been personally affected by that fund and were able to tell stories.”
He said one of the teachers sent a message to her class in second grade and said, “Whatever you guys bring in tomorrow, I’m going to match it.”
She said up to $250. The kids brought in $400. The teacher matched the $400, so her class that day raised $800, Snider said.
Another example of the second grade, he pointed out, was that one student’s grandpa died of cancer. The grandpa had “all these coin jars. He (the student) wanted to donate them to this, so he brought in all these huge jars of coins from his grandpa, who died of cancer, to be able to give back.”
Snider said just some really amazing things happened during the fundraiser.
On Sova buying the pizza for 90 people, Snider said it was “pretty expensive” and Snider tried to talk Sova into letting him help pay for it.
“But he said, ‘I want to do this for my wife. I want to do it to honor her and I want to make sure that all the money the kids raised, every cent of it, goes to Cancer Care and not for pizza,'” Snider said. “So, just really awesome.”
Bokhart said, “I didn’t think I’d almost cry at a board meeting.”
Troyer said he got to work with Van Lue, who had a “whole team of people,” that week. “Really cool things happening at the high school, really cool things throughout the district. It was a fun way to bring the community together. And, I will say, 100% student driven. They had come in and presented it to us during an (administration) meeting, if I recall, a couple months ago and they put this together. They led the whole thing, basically told us what to do, and we executed their plan. It was really cool. Really proud of our young folks and our kids as they worked through that.”
The students reached out and corresponded with all the principals at each of the Wawasee schools for the fundraiser.
In other “good news” for Wawasee, Troyer reported Wawasee Early Learning Centers received a Build, Learn, Grow Stabilization grant totaling $54,800.
“It seems like every other week, (Director of Special Services) Jen (Phillips) is coming to me with some new grant they are seeking or have received, which is awesome. Kudos to her and her team,” Troyer said.
The grant is to provide critical funding to early childhood and school-age providers to support their program’s operating expenses across six categories and help rebuild their programs for the future.
“Wawasee is utilizing these funds to provide all employees working in the program an increase in hourly wage, as well as hiring an Early Learning Program coordinator,” Troyer said.
The second round of grants opens soon and Wawasee Early Learning Centers are hopeful to continue accessing these grants for continued improvement, he said.
He told the Board he really appreciated their support of the Early Learning Program.
“I think it’s truly becoming one of our shining stars in the district, and it’s going to help our incoming students tremendously, as well as filling a need - a really important need - in our community with child care. So we’re really excited about that,” Troyer said.
Board Secretary Rebecca Linnemeier asked if all of Wawasee’s Centers were full.
Phillips said all of their infant and toddler rooms are completely full, with a waiting list. Pre-K at Syracuse and North Webster elementary schools are full. The Milford Center has five seats available, as of Tuesday.
“And we, honestly, haven’t done any marketing,” she said.
“Well done,” Linnemeier stated.
Bokhart pointed out they are “Early Learning Centers” and not day care centers. “It is early learning,” he said.
Troyer said all the Centers have curriculum that they work through. Phillips will give a full presentation to the Board at the April meeting.
Troyer then told the Board the Wawasee Early Learning Centers program also was awarded a $25,000 grant from the Dekko Foundation. The grant will be used to continue the pursuit of expanding and licensing the infant and toddler early learning programs within the corporation.
“Again, lots of great things happening there,” he said.
The Board unanimously approved all the good news presented.
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