Larson Design Group (LDG) and McDonald’s are partnering with the Williamsport Area School District Education Foundation (WASDEF) in a week-long effort to pay tribute to teachers and raise funds to support classrooms during Teacher Appreciation Week from May 3-7.
Teacher Appreciation Week is celebrated across the nation every year during the first week of May to honor teachers and recognize “the lasting contributions they make,” according to the National Education Association.
WASDEF is inviting district families and its alumni community to honor teachers — both past and present — with a commemorative donation to its Teacher Mini-Grant Program, which annually provides teachers with an opportunity to receive $1,500 classroom grants to enhance curriculum and instruction.
To date, the program has funded 90 projects to the tune of more than $104,000 since 2005.
Additionally, for teachers who receive donations in their honor, Amazon gift cards also will be given to them to support their classroom supply needs — which can be largely self-funded — for the 2021-2022 school year.
Donations made in honor of current WASD teachers will provide an Amazon gift card according to the following scale: $15, a $5 gift card; $25, a $15 gift card; $50, a $30 gift card; and $100, a $60 gift card.
Gift cards will be granted to new WASD teachers, prioritized by hire date, for any memorial contributions received or donations made in honor of former teachers.
“This year, the foundation’s board of directors knew it wanted to find a unique way to acknowledge our teachers’ work and perseverance through an extraordinary year,” said Executive Director Greg Hayes. “Teacher Appreciation Week seemed like the perfect catalyst to invite our entire Millionaire community to honor teachers in a way that directly supports them at an individual level while also increasing the foundation’s granting power to support them at the classroom level. We’re extremely grateful for McDonald’s and LDG for their partnership and commitment to this effort that will allow us to stretch each commemorative gift we receive.”
“Teachers are the foundation of a great education. LDG believes strongly in supporting them by providing resources that create environments in which students thrive,” said Terry Krezmer, chief human resources officer.
A family-oriented business, local McDonald’s owner and operator Andrew Kelley expressed his support of the work teachers do every day, most especially this year, given the complexities educators had to endure through the COVID-19 pandemic.
“We’re incredibly appreciative of our teachers and what they do for students on daily basis,” Kelley said.
He and his wife, Megan, also have two children enrolled at WASD.
“As local business owners and parents,” he said, “we’re happy to get behind the education foundation’s effort to help pay tribute to our teachers here in the district and provide financial support for the work they do in their classrooms.”
Founded in 2004, WASDEF is the recognized nonprofit affiliate of the Williamsport Area School District. The education foundation facilitates charitable giving and permanent legacies based on individual areas of interest in educational innovation, the arts, athletics and scholarships. For more information or to make a donation, visit www.wasdeducationfoundation.org.
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