The Elk County Community Foundation (ECCF), an affiliate of Central Kansas Community Foundation (CKCF), has been working closely with local schools recently to find ways to better support staff and students in the district. After meeting with local administrators, it became clear that there was a great opportunity for ECCF to help address the needs of individual students at both West Elk and Elk Valley Schools.
School budgets typically do not allow for the purchase of need-based items such as winter coats, gym shoes, eyeglasses or other similar items for individual students. Because of this, local teachers frequently end up using their own money to purchase these types of items when a student in their class needs them. In response to this, the ECCF began working to set up funds to address these very important needs.
For West Elk Schools, the EmpoWEr Fund has just been established. This fund was set up to enable West Elk schools to provide need-based assistance to individual students. Examples of need-based assistance that the fund can be used for include, but are not limited to: book bags and/or school supplies for individual students, winter coats, gloves, hats, shoes or gym clothes for individual students, to assist with large balances for school lunches for families going through difficult times, fees associated with field trips or similar classroom activities, and glasses for students who do not have other means to acquire them. An initial $3,000 deposit was required to establish the fund, which was provided by an anonymous donor. Now that the fund is established, ongoing community support is needed to ensure that money is always available in the fund to continue meeting the needs of West Elk students.
An identical fund is currently in the works for Elk Valley schools. The necessary $3,000 deposit was secured thanks to the generosity of several local donors. Elk Valley’s fund should be operational within a couple of weeks. As with the EmpoWEr Fund, ongoing community support is needed to keep this fund active.
As with any donation made to a fund held with the ECCF, any donation to the EmpoWEr Fund or the Elk Valley Fund is tax deductible. If you’d like more information about supporting these important funds and improving the lives of students in Elk County, please reach out to ECCF Associate Director Brandi Mast at brandi. [email protected] or by phone at 316-2514291.
ECCF was formed as an affiliate of CKCF on March 17, 2014. The mission of the ECCF is to enhance the quality of education, cultural, civic, and economic life in the greater Elk County area, both today and in the future by: Enabling donors to fulfill their charitable interest; Building a permanent endowment, Facilitating prudent management and care of funds; Meeting community needs through grants, awards, and scholarships.
