The primary objectives and purposes of this corporation shall be to provide the additional funds necessary to give each student in our school district a quality education and to provide an enriching environment.

Here, in our rural El Dorado County, our Mother Lode School District serves 1300 students in grades K-8, with limited resources and the great need to sponsor educational programs that foster healthy kids and strong families and to ensure a future community of successful adults. The need has presented itself for a local educational foundation.

If I told you there was a concept that you could bring about in your school district which would (a) bring about additional unrestricted funds for your district, (b) provide for the development of a coalition of parents, community members and business interests for the purpose of assisting in achieving the goals of your school district, would you not want to join in? Such a foundation could foster a collaborative effort, bringing together broad segments of the community for the betterment of students' educational opportunities.

The Mother Lode Education Foundation, which was chartered in the spring of 2006 to support the students and the educational programs in the Mother Lode Union School District, is looking to achieve the goals stated above. All proceeds from events and fundraisers are donated back to programs and students at specific sites in our district through a grant process. The members of the Board of Directors serve without compensation, allowing the Foundation to have minimal administrative costs. Therefore, all funds collected by the Foundation, which is a tax-deductible organization, are dedicated to supporting Mother Lode Union School District students. The intent of the foundation is not to supplant current fundraising efforts, but to enhance fundraising and to allow more discretionary funds for all sites.

Nowhere in the state of California do teachers work harder or care for their students more than in the Mother Lode Union School District. Education funding has dwindled down, leaving our schools with far fewer resources to dedicate to learning activities and more limited materials for us in classrooms. It is our hope to assist the Mother Lode Union School District in "bridging" the funding gap by providing a venue for teachers to access for resources that have been lost or were never accessible due to funding limitations.

The Foundation would welcome your assistance, whether applying for a board position, or participating with our efforts to be of support to Mother Lode schools. If you support our goals and the mission state above, contact us by leaving a message with your name and telephone number at (530) 677-9972 Ext. 101. A Foundation Board member will return your call.

Thank you in advance for your support and we look forward to seeing you at one of our events.