Berkeley Public Education Foundation & Berkeley School Volunteers

Thank You, DEAR Day 2010 Participants!

jill — Wed, 10 Mar 2010 00:12:22 +0000

Carol Olson reading for Emerson's DEAR Day 2010

On Friday, March 5th, over 150 volunteers from UC Berkeley, local businesses, churches, and neighborhood groups joined Berkeley School Volunteers and Berkeley Public Education Foundation in the Berkeley Public elementary and pre-schools for DEAR Day, or “Drop Everything and Read” Day. Conceived as a way to celebrate literacy and the birthday of the iconic children’s book author Dr. Seuss, DEAR Day aims to brings folks from our community into the schools to drop everything for one hour and share their love for books and reading with youth across the USA.

A big thank you to all who participated. Our volunteers consistently make this event a great success! If you would like to join us next year, please contact BSV with your name, email address and phone number; we will add you to our e-newsletter and keep you informed of our events and volunteer opportunities throughout the school year.

Read more about DEAR Day and see some local heroes reading to Berkeley youth here:
http://www.berkeleydailyplanet.com/issue/2010-03-04/article/34791?headline=Berkeley-Drops-Everything-to-Read

City of Berkeley recognizes DEAR Day!

Molly — Wed, 03 Mar 2010 20:44:17 +0000

We are proud to announce that the City of Berkeley has recognized BPEF and its Berkeley School Volunteers annual DEAR Day — or Drop Everything and Read — event with a proclamation naming March 5, 2010 as DEAR Day in Berkeley! Over 135 volunteers, including Mayor Bates, all City Council members, our new Chief of Police Michael Meehan, and BUSD Superintendent Huyett will join community members at each of our 11 K-5 schools to read a favorite book or two. Thank you to them and all the volunteers who are so important to the vitality of our schools and make this day a success. Click to view the proclamation DEAR Day proclamation!.

Gutters Clogged? That’s Music to our Ears!

Molly — Thu, 18 Feb 2010 21:25:55 +0000

We are happy to introduce Clay Saunders, musician and entrepreneur, who before we even met began sending us checks from his BEETHOVEN GUTTER WORKS equal to 6% of every job he and his crew do cleaning, repairing or installing gutters and washing windows. The funds support music in all Berkeley public schools.

Clay’s budding business is built on a collective model, and he intends to expand his members and services to cover nearly everything you might need for your home–a new roof, windows, patio, plumbing…you name it! For now, windows and gutters are his specialty, so make note of this number next time you’re in the market for such services: 831-869-8060. Thank you, Clay!

236 Classroom Grants Awarded to Berkeley Teachers!

Molly — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 20:56:51 +0000

BPEF has announced its 2009-10 Classroom Grants. Two hundred seventy five applications were received, and 236 grants awarded for a total of $161,029! Teachers at every grade level, from Pre-K through high school, received awards for their ideas and innovative projects. Funds are supporting new technology, fiction and non-fiction books, special education support materials, field trips to sites around the Bay Area, math and science curriculum materials, visual arts supplies and artist residencies, family events, tutoring support–236 opportunities for our students to expand their horizons and learning. A complete list of the grants can be found here.

Board members from BPEF fanned throughout the city to distribute grants to every school on November 18. What a fun job that is! We put some smiles on teachers’ and principals’ faces. Surveys continually show that teachers reach into their own pockets to the tune of well over $500 per year to enrich their classrooms and curriculum. Those are preciouos dollars they should keep for their hard work and commitment. It’s our job, with your support, to fulfill their needs and dreams. We can only fund half the total dollars requested right now. With you help, we will do more!

Save the date for our Annual BPEF Spring Lunch!

admin — Fri, 13 Nov 2009 22:56:34 +0000

Mark your calendar for May 14, 2010. Join us for an annual Berkeley event not to be missed!

A standing ovation greeted Malcolm X Principal Cheryl Chinn, a 2009 Educator of the Year honoree