History – Bethel Education Foundation

And a Great Time Was Had…

March 20, 2019Dawnja JohnsonEvents, News

The first ever 80’s inspired prom was a big hit! The music was gnarly and the company was totally radical! Thank you to all our sponsors, volunteers and guests that made this night truly a great success for Bethel kids!

BEF Obtains $20,000 Mozilla Grant for Kalapuya High School

April 18, 2018Dawnja JohnsonNews

Thanks to Bethel Education Foundation’s efforts, a $20,000 grant will soon send Kalapuya High School students out in the field for a mapping project with the Army Corps of Engineers.

Kalapuya students will assist with a comprehensive mapping of invasive species and culturally important plants around Fern Ridge Reservoir. They will also monitor the ecological restoration projects KHS students have completed in recent years.

The grant from the Mozilla Gigabit Community Fund will provide handheld Geographic Information System (GIS) computers, allowing KHS students to stream the GIS data back to the Army Corps.

Click here for more information about the Mozilla grants awarded in Eugene
Click here to watch a video about gigabit technology and the Mozilla Gigabit Community Fund

BEF Receives $10,000 From College Football Playoff Foundation

November 22, 2016Dawnja JohnsonNews

The UO Duck presents a $10,000 check to BEF co-founder Brooke Cottle.

The University of Oregon selected the Bethel Education Foundation as the agency to receive $10,000 from the College Football Playoff Foundation. The UO Duck presented the check to BEF co-founder Brooke Cottle at Autzen Stadium during a break in the Ducks’ football game against Stanford.

Each PAC-12 school – including the UO – received the money and former Bethel principal Glen Martz recommended that the UO donate the $10,000 to the BEF. In addition to the windfall, UO athletes will be on hand to help BEF board members present 2016 mini-grant awards to surprised Bethel educators.

BEF Awards $30,000 In Grants

December 17, 2015Dawnja JohnsonNews

The Bethel Education Foundation surprised teachers throughout the district by handing out $30,000 in mini-grants.

Click to see the award presentations

BEF Board members were joined by a student band from Prairie Mountain School to make 39 surprise presentations, with the grants ranging up to $1,500.

Teachers asked for funding for iPads, gardening equipment, OBOB books, science materials, field trips, and much more.

The BEF works year-round raising money to provide the supports teachers need to enhance students’ education.

Click here to donate to the BEF and continue the work they do on behalf of Bethel kids.

Bethel Education Foundation Supports Enriching Bethel Programs

November 1, 2015Dawnja JohnsonNews

Bethel School District, November 1, 2015, By Pat McGillivray

Each year Bethel teachers are surprised with funded grants from the BEF. More than $125,000 has been provided to Bethel teachers for enriching programs for their students Bethel teachers have an opportunity that other teachers can only dream about. Funding – up to $1,500 – for activities, programs, projects and products that will enhance students’ educational experience.

The Bethel Education Foundation is accepting grant applications after a year of fundraising to support Bethel programs.
Click here to donate to the BEF.

The BEF has already given away more than $125,000 since it was formed by a group of active Bethel parents in 2009. 177 grants for field trips, school gardens, equipment, math software, new novels, school assemblies, and many other projects have already been funded.

It will be a happy holiday season for a few dozen Bethel teachers whose 2015 grant requests will be funded by the BEF.

Investing In Bethel Students

October 14, 2015Dawnja JohnsonNews

Bethel B-Mail,October 14, 2015, By Pat McGillivray

More than 200 community members filled the Fairfield gym for the BEF’s Breakfast at Bethel. They contributed $22,000 to the BEF.

Bethel kids are worth the investment. Generous donors from throughout the community recently came to breakfast and chipped in more than $22,000 to support the Bethel Education Foundation.

Now in its 6th year the BEF has provided 180 grants for engaging school or classroom opportunities in Bethel.

Kids have experienced field trips, special assemblies, new science equipment, a wider selection of novels, additional classroom technology, and other educational enhancements. The Breakfast at Bethel exposed donors to the wonderful and engaging learning going on in our schools, and folks were willing to provide more.

My thanks go out to the donors, the BEF, and its Executive Director Jennifer Jacobson for helping to make Bethel kids’ education even more special. And there is still time to donate, it is easy to do, just check this link for information.

Colt Gill

Bethel Superintendent

Funding the Dream

January 9, 2015Dawnja JohnsonNews

Bethel School District, January 9, 2015, By Pat McGillivray

The Bethel Education Foundation was back, marching down school halls and handing out thousands of dollars.

The BEF’s mini-grants aren’t so mini anymore, with some topping out at $1,500 for worthy school projects in Bethel. 24 grants worth more than $23,000 were presented for innovative and exciting purposes, everything from iPads to science equipment and experiments, field trips, math software, and rockets.

Over the last six years the BEF has presented 177 grants worth more than $100,000. To support the BEF – and Bethel students – donate at the Bethel Education Foundation website.

And watch for the BEF’s annual Apple Campaign coming soon.

2014 Breakfast at Bethel

October 8, 2014Dawnja JohnsonNews

The morning meal has never been quite like this around here.

The first annual Bethel Education Foundation’s Breakfast at Bethel welcomed more than 150 people and introduced them to the BEF’s efforts.

The organization, now in its 5th year, raises funds to enhance the educational experiences for all Bethel students.

BEF grants have provided field trips, school assemblies, novels, science equipment and so much more for Bethel students.

Generous donors helped Breakfast at Bethel raise thousands of dollars that will go toward more opportunities for kids in every Bethel school.

$20,000 in Grants For Teachers

December 19, 2013Dawnja JohnsonNews

EUGENE, Ore. — The holiday came a couple days early for a group of teachers in Eugene Thursday, who got a big boost in their budgets.

Nearly $20,000 are going directly toward the education of kids in our community.

Donna Butler is just one of 22 teachers who received a giant check from the Bethel Education Foundation. Teachers submitted grant proposals earlier this year for extra educational tools that just don’t fit into the budget. Butler now has nearly $1,200 to spend on iPads to help her first graders learn math.

“We don’t have any extra help in math. This may be a way to do it. Right here. So, it’s going to be fun trying it out,” Butler said.

Charissa Nelson got two grants totaling $900.

“Being able to have access to tools that really enhance and enrich our educational experience just means a great, great deal,” Nelson said.

She’s planning on using some of the funds for simple science experiments and binoculars for studying wildlife.

“When you do it for 30 kids, it starts to add up,” Nelson said. “Without the money, we wouldn’t have these opportunities.”

The Bethel Education Foundation started just four years ago, and they’ve already made a big impact.

“We saw the need in the community, and we’re raised over $90,000 to be able to put back right in the classroom. And being able to do that on a local level is, I think, just really valuable and makes such a difference for our kids,” said Brooke Cottle, President of the Bethel Education Foundation.

“Before they were here, we just either paid for it ourselves or went without and…on behalf of all the teachers I just want to say thank you to the community and to the BEF members for helping us out,” Nelson said.

To explain what an accomplishment this is, students are going home with a flyer that explains to parents exactly how the grant work.

BEF Surprise Grant Presentations

January 11, 2013Dawnja JohnsonNews