This post is for a pretty specific audience, but anyone should feel free to read and donate! I’m currently serving as the Board President for the West Lafayette Schools Education Foundation. The Foundation is a non-profit with a mission to support the West Lafayette Community School Corporation.
The short version: the Foundation’s normal annual fundraiser was derailed by COVID-19 and we are having a virtual fundraiser this Thursday at 7 p.m. (You will be able to watch here). You can donate here. Several teachers will compete in games for your amusement while we ask you to donate money to support the Foundation and, by extension, the West Lafayette Schools.
https://www.facebook.com/wlsef/videos/1703991603073300/
The longer version:
The West Lafayette Schools Education Foundation supports the West Lafayette Community School Corporation. Specifically this has involved things like securing funding for the backpack program which helps with food security for school families with a need; funding the teacher grant program which helps teachers acquire supplies and services for initiatives they think will help in the classroom; administering student scholarships; raising money to help with the school’s capital projects (like the James R. Guy Education Wing); and coordinating alumni outreach.
A lot of the money that comes into the Foundation is restricted — donors have given money with the stipulation that it only be used for a particular scholarship or to fund bricks and mortar, etc.. That’s great, and we welcome those donations, but the Foundation needs a certain amount of unrestricted money to fund its general operations. Normally, we have an annual dinner and an auction that serves as our primary fundraiser, but this year COVID-19 upended that plan for us like it did for so many others. So, we are trying a virtual fundraiser. The structure is like a game show with some of our teachers going head-to-head. The contestants are:
Lane Custer – WL Intermediate School PE, WL Varsity track & field coach
Jane Schott – WL High School Science, Varsity girls’ basketball coach
Randy Studt – WL High School German/Educator of the Year!
Morgan Asay – WL Intermediate School Art
Alivia Brooks – WL High School Assistant Band Director
Rick Roseman – WL Elementary PE teacher, WL Varsity Wrestling Coach & Football Defensive Coordinator
We have lined up some matching funds for donations, hence the name “Double Your Dollars.”
You can watch here beginning at 7:00 p.m. until approximately 8 p.m. on Thursday, June 25: https://www.doubleyourdollars.live/episodes-2020-wlsef
You can donate here: https://secure.givelively.org/donate/west-lafayette-schools-eductionfoundation-inc/double-your-dollars-live-2020. I believe you can also donate by texting REDDEVILPRIDE to 44-321. Early donations or donations during the event are both welcome.
And, a final pitch to separate you, dear reader, from your money for a good cause. I’m not a tax professional — so check with one of your choice — but the CARES Act passed by Congress in response to COVID-19 made donations more attractive from a tax perspective. The 2017 tax legislation made it so that most people take the standard deduction rather than itemizing. The new CARES Act legislation lets you take an “above the line” deduction of $300 (or $600 for married, filing jointly) for charitable donations.
So, particularly if you live in West Lafayette, please watch & please donate.
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