Over $100,000 in Country-wide Support for Flooded Families and Students

December 2013
Since mid-September, the Education Foundation for the St. Vrain Valley has received over $100,000 in donations of cash, school supplies and books to help students and their families who have been impacted by the recent flooding.
The outpouring of support has been tremendous and has come from all across the country …. from P.S. 104 in New York City to Sanborn Elementary in Longmont; from Portland, Oregon to Kerrville, Texas to Casper, Wyoming; from people never really affected by tragedy to those who themselves have needed a hand-up in the past. It has been wonderful to see such generosity in so many forms.
Individual donations really got things started as far as meeting the immediate needs of students and teachers impacted by the flooding. Community members organized their friends and neighbors to collect recess equipment, school supplies, books and clothing in nearby Erie and the Tri-town areas, Golden, and Longmont as soon as the rain stopped falling. Hoola-hoops and playground balls along with take-home books, jackets, hats and of course, cash began showing up at the Education Foundation once the word went out to the community.
Schools from near and far demonstrated their generosity by holding special fund raising activities such as penny drives, book fairs, carnivals, no-uniform days, fundraising contests between grades and ice cream socials to raise money to help fellow students. Whole schools as well as individual classrooms got involved. Students helping students and providing entire school communities the opportunity to show empathy for the needs of others was a key goal in all of these support-raising events. The giving ranged from All Saints School preschoolers who are just beginning to learn about empathy for others to Longmont High School student councils members who put years of community service experience into action to raise money. The amazing schools involved are:
- All Saints School, Portland, Oregon
- Pine Ridge Elementary, Aurora, Colorado
- Blue River Elementary, Overland Park, Kansas
- P.S. 104, New York City, New York
- Boulder Country Day, Boulder, Colorado with help from Colorado Friendship
- Brantner Elementary, Thornton, Colorado
- Quest Academy, Aurora, Colorado Central Elementary PTO, Longmont, Colorado
- Sanborn Elementary, Longmont, Colorado
- Cottonwood Elementary, Casper, Wyoming
- Starkey Elementary, Kerrville, Texas
- Indian Peaks Elementary, Longmont, Colorado
- Traylor Academy, Denver, Colorado
- Longmont High Student Council, Colorado
- University Park Elementary, Denver, Colorado
- Parr Elementary PTA, Arvada, Colorado
- Windy Hills School PTO, Kearney, Nebraska
- Pine Lane Elementary, Parker, Colorado
Businesses and service clubs of all kinds have provided a wide array of support for flood victims. They supported fundraising opportunities for employees and customers specifically for flood victims or donated a portion of their profits to help students and their families. While most donations came in the form of cash other valuable support was provided including a free rental truck from Home Depot to pick up school supplies from Walgreens and the donation of temporary office space at Elevations Credit Union for the Education Foundation which was temporarily evacuated from Main St. School to make room for all the Lyons schools’ students. These community minded companies are:
- Anthony’s Pizza and Pasta, Front Range locations
- Longmont Rotary, Longmont, Colorado
- Caplan and Earnest, Boulder, Colorado
- Measured Progress, Inc., Longmont, Colorado
- DeVry University, Westminster, Colorado
- Sungard iWorks, Greenwood Village, Colorado
- eBay Inc., Denver-areas employees
- Tenacity Investments Group, Longmont, Colorado
- Elevation Credit Union, Longmont, Colorado
- Walgreens, in Longmont, Tri-town and Boulder
- Gold Key Travel, Longmont, Colorado
- Walmart, Ken Pratt Blvd., Longmont, Colorado
- Home Depot, Boulder, Colorado
- Young Insurance Professionals, Boulder, Colorado
- Longmont Community Foundation, Colorado
The generosity witnessed by the Education Foundation staff was incredible and took a myriad of shapes. Everyone wanted to help and did so in the way they thought best.