By Davi Stuhlsatz

 MULVANE– The Mulvane Education Foundation is 70 percent of the way to its goal of raising $50,000 in its first year.

“The foundation received a $20,000 grant from the Kansas Star Casino and $5,000 from Kansas Gas Service,” said J.T. Klaus, foundation general counsel. “A food pairing and wine tasting in June raised another $10,000, bringing the total raised to $35,000.”

The foundation’s mission is “Building Futures. Strengthening Mulvane.”

The purpose of the foundation is two-fold, said Klaus – to raise funds for direct support of classroom and extracurricular activities, and to raise funds for scholarships for graduates.

The foundation gave the board of education $6,041 in June for six Promethean boards for Mulvane Middle School.

Promethean boards are interactive – students can write on the boards with special pens that convert their writing to text and the boards can be used to display presentations and connect to the Internet. 

The foundation will begin accepting classroom grant applications from Mulvane Public Schools teachers this fall, with a goal of distributing funds for classroom technology, teaching needs and other extracurricular needs. 

“The ‘Prize Patrol’ hopes to be in the hallways of Mulvane schools delivering good news and much needed resources this January, 2013,” said Frank Carson III, foundation president. 

A fall fundraising event is currently in the planning stages, said Tom Keil, foundation secretary.

Earlier this summer the BOE approved the foundation’s request to designate the area of the new football stadium where the football players run out onto the field as Victory Lane.

As a fundraiser, the foundation will pave Victory Lane with engraved bricks bearing the names of founders and others who wish to financially support Mulvane schools.

The foundation has two funds set up – a general fund and an endowment fund, said Klaus.

The foundation is a qualified 501(c)(3) tax-exempt corporation, formed in 2011 at the urging of school board members Tim Snider and Jennifer Keys, he said.

“They had the vision, and the community got on board,” said Keil. 

Persons interested in making a donation or in becoming founding members can contact Frank Carson at Carson Bank, Natalie Gosch, foundation treasurer, or Keil for more information.