The Center Grove Education Foundation raises money through a variety of means but their biggest event is “Gala for the Grove.” For the first time the Gala was held at the Indiana Roof Ballroom. More than 400 supporters attended the event hosted by WRTV-6 reporter Rafael Sanchez. The evening started with a silent auction, dinner and the annual awards ceremony.
This year’s award winners are:
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Jared Badger, Class of 2011 graduate, who attended the Center Grove Alternative Academy, spoke about the value of offering a non-traditional option for high school. He said he wouldn’t have graduated high school and be working in his current career without that option. The academy has a 1 to 15 student teacher ratio and allows students to work at their pace. The curriculum meets all Indiana state standards and graduates receive a Center Grove High School diploma.
Money raised from this event and other Foundation activities go to fund education grants for teachers in all Center Grove Schools (See story on grants here). Twice a year teachers at Center Grove Schools have an opportunity to request grants from the Center Grove Education Foundation to fund specific classroom needs.
The video included here, and shown at the Gala, highlights a unique partnership between the Foundation, the school, and Carter Lumber to provide materials for the “Introduction to Constructions” class.
An event like the Gala is not easy to put on. A new challenge this year was attracting a larger group of supporters with the move to the Indiana Roof. Attendance was up more than one-third over last year. Foundation President Ryan Rhoten offered “A big thank you to go to our board members, volunteers, executive director Carla Johnson, and this year’s Gala chair, Janet Hubler. All of these individuals worked countless hours to help
plan, organize, and implement what was a highly successful Gala. Of course, an event like this simply cannot happen without our sponsors. The Foundation is very fortunate to have so many generous sponsors who participated in this year’s Gala. We extend a huge thank you to all of them.”
In addition to being an all around fun evening, the Gala was an opportunity to launch the Foundation’s new REACH campaign. The REACH campaign is a major fund raising effort that will benefit Center Grove students and the entire Center Grove community Through this program the Foundation will be able to provide students Remediation and Enrichment intercessions so Achievement Can Happen. The Foundation will release more details on the program as it develops.
If you had your photo taken at the event you can find it here, use the password cgef2013
