Hoover City Schools Foundation launches new fundraising initiative

The Hoover City Schools Foundation has launched a “Commit to 36” fundraising campaign designed to raise $500,000 to support Hoover schools.

The idea is to raise $36 for every student in the school system, asking people to donate the equivalent of $1 for every week of the school year. With just over 13,900 students in the system, that would equal slightly more than $500,000.

“With such a large student population in Hoover, it only takes a small donation from each parent to make a huge different in the educational offerings of our system,” said Janet Turner, executive director of the foundation. “The recent city elections made it clear that school funding is a top priority for the people of Hoover, and the new school system budget includes numerous cuts to discretionary spending, so the community’s role in supporting the schools is more important than ever.”

In conjunction with the campaign, the foundation’s signature corporate sponsor, Chick-fil-A, has agreed to donate 10 percent of all sales from three restaurants — the ones in Patton Creek, Hoover Commons and the Greystone area — between 11 a.m. and 8 p.m. on Thursday, Sept. 29, to the foundation.

The Hoover City Schools Foundation provides grant to teachers in Hoover schools for innovative projects. This year, the foundation received more than 50 grant applications requesting almost $80,000. Of those, the foundation awarded 19 grants, distributing almost $30,000 to 13 schools.

The grants are funded with interest from an endowment provided by Alabama Power Co. and supplemented by additional donations.

The foundation also awards grants to individual schools and funds special districtwide projects, such as a weeklong computer coding event and an engineering, math and science event geared specifically for girls across the school district. The organization also sponsors breakfast and after-hours events designed to connect businesses and professionals with schools and the high school career academies.

The “Commit to 36” campaign officially kicked off Sunday, and as of noon Tuesday, the foundation already has received $2,500 in donations, Turner said. People can donate online here.