Healdsburg Education Foundation (HEF) has worked for more than 30 years to raise funds to ensure that the students of Healdsburg Unified School District (HUSD) receive the education they deserve. Now we invite you to join us as we take this opportunity to imagine what our schools can be and how HEF can continue to help to meet the changing needs of our schools. Distance learning has created challenges, some anticipated and some that we could have never imagined. The gaps we have all worked so hard to close have become wider and our students, teachers and schools need us now more than ever to provide critical resources to navigate these uncharted waters.
Since we cannot be together in person, we are doing something different this year and will be hosting our first ever virtual event Healdsburg Education Week 2020.
From Nov. 16-20 we will be honoring some long-time supporters of HEF; Mary Lou and Jerry Eddinger, The Deas Family, Juli and Doug Muhlemen and Circe Sher and the Sher Family. Each of these special people have made significant contributions, both monetarily and through their leadership, to our schools and our community for decades. We hope you will join our event beginning on Monday, Nov. 16 to watch some videos and hear from them why they do what they do to support public education.Â
We will be highlighting different topics in education each day that we hope will inspire all of Healdsburg to: Learn – by expanding awareness about the needs of our students and our schools, Imagine – what our schools can look like in this unprecedented time in our country’s history and Act – to secure resources to ensure that every student in HUSD has the opportunity and supports they need to thrive.
Two teams will be having a friendly fundraising competition throughout the week with multiple prizes up for grabs for everyone who participates. And, we will feature a list of local businesses on our website who are supporting HEF during Education Week. Several will be running special promotions and dining options recognizing our honorees and giving back to education when you shop or dine with them.
There are many ways you can participate. First of all, visit our website throughout the week at www.hefschools.com to watch videos and share them through your network of friends and family. Come back every day because new videos will post each day and every time you share a link, you will be entered into a raffle for that day for the chance to win some special prizes.
Secondly, support your team of choice by selecting either ‘Home Team’ or ‘Away Team’ when you make your donation. Both teams are working for the same cause, but only one will walk away with bragging rights.
And lastly, shop local at the businesses listed on our website. You can dine-in, take-out or make some early holiday purchases all while supporting your local business community AND supporting your local schools. It’s really a win for everyone and something that we hope will become a Healdsburg tradition.
Healdsburg is a special place for many reasons. One that keeps us here is the sense of community and the strive for and expectation of excellence in every aspect of our lives. Our schools are no exception so please join us next week for the first ever Healdsburg Education Week at www.hefschools.com.
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Sally Purnell Mackin is the executive director of the Healdsburg Education Foundation.
