February 2010 Vol. 9, Issue 2
In This Issue
Upcoming Events
Good4U, Good4Us!
February Success Story
Foundation in the News!
Join our mailing list
Record Scholarships
Student Profile
Financial & Retirement Planning 101
Play FORE Education
Teaching Tools Donations
Get Involved!  

 
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Upcoming Events 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Play FORE Education Charity Golf Classic
March 15, 2010
12:30pm
Avila Golf & Country Club
 
Take a swing for our schools!  The Play FORE Education Charity Golf Classic, presented by Batson-Cook Company, will be held March 15, 2010 at the Avila Golf and Country Club at 12:30pm.  All proceeds will benefit our programs and services.  Sponsors will enjoy recognition in front of prominent members of the community and the school district.  For more information contact Cheryl Hedrick at (813) 231-1937.
 
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Hooked on Education Fishing Tournament
April 29-30, 2010
Westshore Yacht Club
 
This popular "catch and release" fishing tournament is hosted by WILDERARCHITECTURE and Allstate Construction, with proceeds benefiting the Foundation.  The event begins with a Captain's Dinner on the night of Thursday, April 29.  The tournament begins early Friday morning, and features a goodie bag for all fishermen, and food and refreshments throughout the day.  The festivities conclude with a catered awards ceremony.  Contact Cheryl Hedrick at (813) 231-1937 for event sponsorship information, or visit us online.
 
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Apple Appeal "Starlight Safari"
May 14, 2010
6:30pm
Busch Gardens Tampa Bay
 
MARK YOUR CALENDARS! Back by popular demand, the Foundation Board of Directors and Busch Gardens Tampa Bay are thrilled to announce the return of the Apple Appeal "Starlight Safari."  This exciting expedition through the wilds of Africa will feature cocktails, dinner, a silent auction, and a safari adventure under the stars (equipped with night vision goggles!).  Click here for more information.
Good4U, Good4Us!
Apples
 
ASI Travel
 
ASI Travel and the Foundation are pleased to make available a special package for district personnel (and their friends)!  Simply pay a one time $99 registration fee (which includes S&H, and a portion of all registration fees go to support the Foundation), and you receive both of the following vacations: Orlando Getaway and a Cruise & Resort Getaway.
Click here for more information and to make your reservation by March 8
 
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2010 Bay Area Renaissance Festival
Festival School Day
March 19, 2010
MOSI
 
Reserve your tickets and "Seize the Day!"  Merchants will demonstrate a variety of crafts and guests can enjoy many educational experiences.  March 19 is Festival School Day!  Everyone can take advantage of discounted rates, and a portion of proceeds will go to the Foundation.  Deadline to order is March 12, so order your tickets today!
 
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Spring into Spa with Planet Beach
March 20 - April 20
 
Donate a minimum of $5 to the Hillsborough Education Foundation and receive 50% off any service!  Valid March 20, 2010 - April 20, 2010.  Click here for more information.
February Success Story  
 
 
Olanike (Nikki)
Foundation Florida Prepaid Scholarship recipient
(2002-2007)
  
My name is Nikki and I am from Nigeria.  In Nigeria, my parents were financially okay.  However, they wanted us to come to America to improve our opportunities in education.
 
I came here with the American dream, to go to college.  However, when I got here, life became very difficult.  My parents could barely put food in our stomachs or buy us clothes.  Through it all, I had a passion, a goal to get into a college.  However, that dream started to slip away.  I was asked to write an essay and a few weeks later I heard I won a scholarship!  It was surreal.  I knew there was no turning back, I had been given a chance and it was up to me to live up to that dream.  My mentor was introduced to me at a very low time in my life and she really was a catalyst.  She changed me for the better and I couldn't have asked for a better mentor.  I am really grateful to the sponsor of my ICC Hop Scholarship for giving me a brighter future.
 
Click here to find out more about the program that made Nikki's dreams come true.
Learn More 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Hillsborough Education Foundation in the News!
 
Join our mailing list!
Note from the President
 
As our team continues the high activity level for our core initiatives, some of which you'll read about below, many of our partners ask the question, "How is the Effective Teachers Initiative going?"  The school district team continues to put tremendous effort into this very large, 7-year initiative.  Personnel are being placed into key positions and planning continues to become more specific.  District personnel have been in the community at a variety of venues talking about the initiative and the $100M grant from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. 

 

One of the Foundation's roles is engaging the community.  To that end, we had our first meeting of the Community Engagement Group, which is made up of community leaders who will be tracking the initiative throughout the duration.  They'll be a sounding board providing ideas from the various industries and organizations they represent while also being knowledgeable advocates in the community for what's happening as the work of the district progresses.

 

For more information, keep coming back to our web page on the Empowering Effective Teachers work, as well as the page for the school district.  You'll find a wealth of information.

Record Number of Scholarships 
 

When the 2010 scholarship application period ended in January, the Foundation received 5,600 applications to review!  Many factors contributed to this record breaking year, including budget cuts, tuition increases, stricter guidelines for student loans, and a change in coverage by the Florida Bright Futures Scholarship Program.  With the excitement of a record number of applications comes the reality that this year the Foundation will be able to grant 250 awards.  This number could increase, however, with continued community support.

 

Foundation scholarships are made available through partnerships with corporations, civic and charitable organizations, and individuals.  You can provide a student with the opportunity to further their education and broaden their horizons.  Click here to find out how.

Student Profile 
 
Sowad
Recipient, Foundation Florida Prepaid Scholarship (2006-2010)
 George Edgecomb Bar Association
2010 Sickles High graduate 
 

This coming June, Sowad will realize a dream many years in the making and become a graduate of Sickles High School.  This day will be made possible thanks to dreams, determination, perseverance, and a Florida Prepaid Scholarship from the George Edgecomb Bar Association.  Through this scholarship, Sowad was paired with a mentor and given the promise of a scholarship for postsecondary education, once she graduated from high school.

 

"Receiving this scholarship helped me stay on track by reminding me that I do have something to look forward to," she said, "It created hope for me that anything is possible if I work for it."  As the next chapter begins, Sowad looks forward to attending college and securing more assistance and dollars she can use to further her education.

 
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The benefits of the Foundation's Florida Prepaid Scholarships are staggering.  Approximately 91% of Florida Prepaid students graduate from high school, versus 65% of high school students in Florida.  And 83% of Florida Prepaid students enroll in college after graduation, compared to 56% of high school graduates in Florida.  Thanks to the encouragement from the scholarship and their mentor, these students can see their dreams and know how to reach for them.

 

Want to help students like Sowad discover the possibilities of a higher education?  Click here to find out how.

Financial & Retirement Planning 101 
 

Have you thought about the legacy you will leave behind when you retire?  More than 150 employees of Hillsborough County Public Schools gathered at Blake High School on February 25 to learn about the opportunities available to them at Financial & Retirement Planning 101, hosted by the Foundation's Planned Giving Committee.  Sponsored by Wells Fargo Private Bank, guests got to ask their most pertinent questions to a panel made up of: an Attorney; CPA; Trust, Investment, and Insurance Advisors; and school district personnel.

 

Attendees also learned about the possibilities presented to them through the Foundation's Heritage Society.  By designating the Foundation in estates and financial plans, donors will help generations of Hillsborough County students receive an excellent education and set them on the path towards their own legacy.  Visit the Foundation website for more information about becoming a part of the Heritage Society.

 

Retirement seminar

Panelists answer questions for employees of Hillsborough County Public Schools at the fourth annual retirement seminar.

Take a swing for our schools!
 

golf logoWith the return of the annual Play FORE Education Charity Golf Classic come exciting new opportunities for golfers.  This year's Executive Shootout will pair golfers with executives from Hillsborough County Public Schools, as well as members of the School Board.  As district officials drive them from hole to hole, executives have the opportunity compete for the Shootout title and, potentially, stir up some business.  This year's golf classic will also feature the debut of the Callaway Challenge, in which all golfers can receive Callaway gifts for competing in challenges such as: closest to the pin, hitting on the green on Par 3 holes, and guessing your distance on the 18th hole.

 

The day will end with an Awards Dinner and Ceremony in which the Charity Cup, the event's coveted traveling award, will be presented.  Thanks to Presenting Sponsor Batson-Cook Company, this exclusive event will entertain while benefiting the county's students, teachers, and schools.

 

Interested in securing your place on the green by becoming a sponsor?  Contact Cheryl Hedrick for more information or visit us online.

New year brings great donations for Teaching Tools
 

Over the last three months, Teaching Tools for Hillsborough Schools received more than $143,000 worth, a total of 49 pallets, of supplies from Corporate Express, a subsidiary of Staples, Inc.  The program also received 18 pallets of spiral notebooks, worth more than $17,000, from Target.  With these donations, Teaching Tools will be able to continue to reach at-risk students and ensure their success in the classroom for the remainder of the school year.  These donations were made possible by the Kids In Need Foundation.

 
Target donation
Taget staff members deliver spiral notebooks to the Teaching Tools Supply Store.
Thank you to the Florida State Fair! 
 
2010 State Fair logoThe Florida State Fair Authority continued its support of the students, teachers, and schools in Hillsborough County and presented the Foundation with a check for $5,000 during Hillsborough County Schools' Day on February 5.  Foundation staff Bill Hoffman, President, and Tami Milner, Associate Director of Development, were joined by School Board Chair Susan Valdes and Steve Ayers from the district's Community & Parent Relations Department to accept this generous donation.
 
Thank you to the Florida State Fair Authority for your continued strong support of at-risk students in Hillsborough County.
Thank you to our January supporters! 
 
Aerial Innovations, Inc.
Air Tran Airways
All American Containers, Inc.
AllState Construction, Inc.
American Legion Auxiliary Town & Country Memorial Unit 01-52
America's Charities
Amscot Financial
Argosy University Tampa Campus
Armed Forces Communications & Electronics Association
AT&T Foundation
Bank of America
Barnes & Noble Booksellers, Inc.
Batson-Cook Company
Bayside Engineering Inc.
The Beck Group
BIC Graphics, USA
Bill Currie Ford, Inc.
Borrell Electric Company, Inc.
Maria Carvalho
Caspers Company McDonald's Restaurants
City of Tampa Water Department
Kelly DeMerrell
Rhonda Ellis
Everest University
Fifth Third Bank
Fleischman Garcia Architecture
Ford & Associates, Inc.
Friends of Military Families, LLC
Luis and Mary Garcia
Steven and Regina Grinstead
Grow Financial Federal Credit Union
Arthur and Susan Heinrichs
Helios Education Foundation
Cindy Hutchinson 
Gordon Johnston
L. Ortega & Associates of Tampa Bay
Lazydays Partners Foundation
Aaron D. Ledesma
Kathleen T. Lilly
Christopher and Claudia Long
Long & Associates Architects/Engineers, Inc.
MAC Papers
Gene and Aldyth Marshall
Gerald J. and Catherine A. Masessa
Doug and Heidi McCree
Bryan C. McDonald
Awilda M. Torres de Morales
Jeanne Morehead
The Nielsen Company
Bridgette O'Connell 
Dr. Luis A. Morales Otero 
Pepin Distributing Company
Pet Food Ltd. Inc.
Mike Poland
Diana R. Pollard
Prida-Guida & Company, P.A.
PRP Wine International
RIPA & Associates, Inc.
Rough Riders, Inc.
Steve Sessums
Shriner's Children's Hospital
South Tampa Chamber of Commerce
Standard Pacific Homes
Superior Mechanical Systems, Inc.
Constance Sutton
Sykes Enterprises, Inc.
T. Rowe Price Associates Foundation, Inc.
Tampa Bay Lightning Foundation, Inc.
Tampa Convention Center
Tampa Knights Rod & Custom Club
The Tampa Tribune - News In Education
Target Through Kids In Need
The University of Tampa
University Alliance/University of Scranton
Wal-Mart (Waters Avenue)
Wentworth Country Club
Erin West
The ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in moments of comfort, but where he stands at times of challenge and controversy. ~ Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
Sincerely,
 
 
 
Bill Hoffman
President
Hillsborough Education Foundation