Foundation for Clovis Schools

This year the Granville “Home of Hope” is located in the Copper River Ranch Community. The home is a single story 2,016 square foot home with three bedrooms, a dining room/library and two bathrooms. The home is located within the award winning Clovis Unified School District and near the Copper River Country Club and Golf Course. Granville Homes and its subcontractors have donated the materials, supplies and labor to construct this house.

Seven local community organizations are beneficiaries of the Home of Hope fundraiser including the Foundation for Clovis Schools. Proceeds received by the Foundation will support Project SMART, a mentoring program for at-risk students in grades 4-8, at Community Day School. Other beneficiaries include: Community Food Bank, Poverello House, Hinds Hospice (Angel Babies), Assistance League and the Foundations for Central and Sanger Schools.

Darius Assemi of Granville Homes said, “This home is a symbol of what each of these organizations do each and every day by giving hope to those in need in our community. Please join all of us at Granville Homes by purchasing your ticket today.”

Those wishing to participate in the raffle can purchase tickets for $100 each and will be eligible to win the grand prize of a brand new Granville Home. Ticket buyers will also be eligible to win numerous other prizes, including LASIK surgery (two-eyes) by EYE-Q Vision Care, a .43 carat diamond from Orloff Jewelers, two Trek Bicycles from Rubber Soul Bicycles, $500 gas cards and more.

To purchase tickets, call the Foundation for Clovis Schools at 327-9090 or visit the “Home of Hope” website at www.gvhomeofhope.com.

On June 16, Foundation Directors and District educators met to review 97 grant applications from teachers and staff across the District.  By the end of the afternoon, 23 innovative projects totaling $103,616 were selected to be funded for the 2009-2010 school year.

Each year, the Foundation raises dollars for the “Classroom and School Grant Program” which supports innovative and creative programs that help students improve academically and personally.  According to Mike Flynn, Foundation Chairperson, “the Foundation received requests for projects totaling $562,222.  This is an increase of 17% or an additional $100,000 over last year.  I believe this reflects the tight budget issues that Clovis Unified schools, and all schools, are facing in these tough economic times.  When all of us on the review teams read the projects that teachers want to implement in their classrooms and at their schools, it made each of us more determined to take their stories to the community and ask for more support.”

Grants funded include a unique handwriting program for kindergarten (Fancher Creek Elementary), a plant-renting enterprise to teach students business and marketing skills (Clovis East High School), and a campus TV/radio broadcasting system to teach students video and audio technology (Alta Sierra Intermediate).

(See below for complete list of projects funded.)

2009-2010 Classroom Grants Funded

Twelve Clovis Unified School District students were honored March 31 at a gala banquet marking the eighth annual “Students of Promise” awards. The event was held at TorNino’s and attracted more than 250 guests.

The “Students of Promise,” all juniors at CUSD high schools, were selected for maintaining good standing in school despite formidable personal obstacles or unusual challenges.

Each year, the Foundation for Clovis Schools sponsors the awards, with each student becoming eligible for a $1,500 scholarship upon graduation. “When Foundation Directors reviewed the nominations that were submitted on [these students’] behalf, we were humbled and in awe of their character and strength. They truly are remarkable,” said Foundation for Clovis Schools Chairperson Mike Flynn.

The Foundation raises funds for the scholarship program through individual and business donations. Educational Employees Credit Union was the major sponsor of this year’s event.

Students and guests were surprised with the announcement that Foundation Director J.P. Sethi and his wife Renu were giving each of the 12 students an additional $1,500.00 for a second year scholarship. Mr. Sethi commented, “Three years ago, I was a guest of Foundation Director Vasanta Shantharam at the Students of Promise dinner. My children went to Bullard High School so I did not have a connection to Clovis Schools. On the way home, my wife turned to me and said, ‘we need to support this program.’ We’ve been huge supporters of this program ever since and it led me to becoming a Foundation Director.”

This program serves as motivation for these students to finish high school and advance to higher education. Previous recipients have gone on to UC Berkeley, Cal Poly, Fresno State, the Clovis Center, Clovis Adult Education, vocational schools, beauty school and other specialty educational institutions.

This year’s “Students of Promise” include:  Kirstie Breshears, Gateway High School; Seaira Delgado, Gateway High School; Lewis Dutra, Clovis West High School; Hazael Gonzalez, Clovis High School; Gilberto Lerma, Buchanan High School/CART; Vanetta Mata, Clovis West High School; Sarah Mullin, Gateway High School; Sahana Ashok Nayak, Buchanan High School; Hailey Ricord, Buchanan High School; David Samuels, Clovis High School; Steven Smith, Clovis West High School; Sammantha Wood, Clovis High School

On March 31, twelve amazing high school juniors will be recognized as Students of Promise. Started in 2001, the Students of Promise Scholarship Program honors students who are attending school on a regular basis, showing responsibility and succeeding in school in spite of very challenging situations in their personal lives. On each high school campus, there are students who face extreme obstacles that could easily affect their performance at school, but somehow these students do not let challenges get in their way. Obstacles that students face include growing up in foster care, homelessness, poverty, critical illness, death of parents, drug addiction, gang affiliation, becoming a teen parent, and more.

According to Mike Flynn, Foundation Chairperson,

Each year, Foundation Directors read letters from school counselors and teachers about some extraordinary young people who have beat the odds. As we read these letters and learn what these students have faced in their young lives, we wonder how they found the strength to overcome so much. Their stories really are extraordinary. I encourage anyone who wants to be inspired by tremendous examples of overcoming adversity, please join us at this year’s dinner. I guarantee you won’t leave that night thinking about life in the same way.”

The Students of Promise award is given to students in their junior year to reward them for persevering through tough times and to encourage them to keep up the good work. When told they have been selected as a Student of Promise, most students say, “I never expected to be recognized for anything. I was just doing what I needed to do.” Upon graduation from high school, each Student of Promise is eligible to receive a $1,500.00 scholarship for college or technical school.

This year’s recipients are:

Kirstie Breshears - Gateway High School
Seaira Delgado - Gateway High School
Lewis Dutra - Clovis West High School
Hazael Gonzalez - Clovis High School
Gilberto Lerma - Buchanan High School & CART
Vanetta Mata - Clovis West High School
Sarah Mullin - Gateway High School
Sahana Ashok Nayak - Buchanan High School
Hailey Ricord - Buchanan High School
David Samuels - Clovis High School
Steven Smith - Clovis West High School
Samantha Wood - Clovis High School

The 2009 Students of Promise Scholarship Dinner will be held Tuesday, March 31, 6:00 - 9:00 p.m. at TorNino’s. Cost of the dinner is $40.00 per person. Reservations may be made by calling the Foundation office at 327-9090.

On February 28, 2009, the Foundation for Clovis Schools launched its first comprehensive website that is separate (but linked) to the school district’s website. According to Executive Director, Linda Holmes,

“The new website is going to be a great way for our supporters to learn more about the good work the Foundation is doing. The site will feature on-going stories about students and teachers and the impact community contributions are making. We’re very excited about all the features we’ve been able to incorporate on this website.” Ms. Holmes added, “One of the most important features is that supporters now have the convenience of making their contributions online. More people are shopping and paying bills online and, yes, making charitable contributions online. We wanted to offer that option and the new website allows us to do that.”

A new giving program featured on the website is Tribute Gifts. Tribute gifts provide a meaningful way to memorialize a person’s life, honor a special milestone, or honor a friend or colleague while helping the children in our schools. When a tribute gift is made, the Foundation sends a tribute gift card to the family or individual being honored. Gift cards are unique as they feature original artwork by students in Clovis schools.

A committee of Foundation donors gave input on the content and design of the new website. Foundation Chairperson, Mike Flynn commented, “It was very important to design a website that includes information that is important to donors and include tools that donors will use to interact with us. We appreciate the time these busy individuals spent to help us develop a site that our community will want to visit.”

Website Development Committee members: Doug Benik, Jeff Larson, Patty Martin, Gilbert Nye, Scott Odell, Doug Reitz, John Smith, Bill Walls, Diane Genco, Jeanne Hatfield, Cheryl Rogers, Jerry McKune, Linda Holmes, Melinda Lail.