The Eastern West Virginia Community Foundation (EWVCF) will award Mini-Grants to Teachers in Jefferson, Berkeley, and Morgan Counties in the fall of 2016. These Mini-Grants of up to $500 will be presented to teachers who need financial assistance with special projects, materials, or classroom resources. Our Partners in Philanthropy, joined by individual donors who are committed to enhancing the quality of life in the Eastern Panhandle, have pledged more than $25,000 in total. Applications will be accepted from September 1 October 14th. Awards will be announced on National Philanthropy Day, Thursday, November 17th.
The Need
More and more, teachers are faced with the challenge of keeping children interested and engaged with few resources beyond the basics. In its first three years, the Mini-Grants to Teachers program awarded grants to fund classroom book sets, a giant abacus, Speed Stackers, Rekenreks, an Autism Cafe, K’NEX building sets, sheet music, Lego Mindstorm kits, pedometers, Apple TVs, pBone instruments, a projector, wood chisels, an alto flute, eBooks, several robotics kits, art supplies, a river tank system, digital cameras, calculators, wireless microphones, graphic tablets, and much more. This year, Mini-Grants will be awarded to teachers who have a burning desire to improve the classroom experience for their students, and the ability to inspire the members of our grants committee to support your efforts.
How Does It Work?
Through a simple one-page application, PreK-12 public school teachers in Jefferson, Berkeley, and Morgan Counties can apply for a grant of up to $500.
The objective is to encourage and support teachers who have great ideas that will enhance the learning experience for students. Mini-Grants can be used to purchase supplies and materials for special projects; provide resources for the classroom; and support projects and programs that are not covered by school budgets or other means.
All grant recipients are expected to report on the expenditure of grant funds and the results of the supported projects by the end of the school year (June 2017). Below is a list of our 2015 Mini-Grant recipients and the projects that were funded.
| School Name | Teacher Name | Subject/Project | Amount |
| Awarded | |||
| MORGAN CO | |||
| Berkeley Springs High | Jeff Hankey | Farm-to-school program/hydroponic materials | $312.34 |
| Greenwood Elementary | Kathrine Mangold | Gravel for walking track | $500.00 |
| Greenwood Elementary | Barbara Miller | Projector/mounting equipment and materials | $500.00 |
| Pleasant View Elementary | Summer McClintock & Margee Hill | Newberry Award books | $441.60 |
| Pleasant View Elementary | Jacklyn Futrell | (2) Chrome books | $460.78 |
| Warm Springs Intermediate | Christina Rose | Special Education/Math materials | $456.51 |
| Warm Springs Intermediate | Natalie Kidwell | (5) Garmin handheld GPS Navigators | $455.00 |
| Warm Springs Intermediate | Nicole Surface | (5)Kindle Fires & cases | $434.53 |
| Warm Springs Intermediate | Marianna Ruggiero | Art/STEAM WV Grant match/Bottle Cap Mural | $500.00 |
| Warm Springs Intermediate | Kelsea Scwartz | Literature Leagues book sets (entire 5th grade) | $500.00 |
| Total | $4,560.76 | ||
| JEFFERSON CO | |||
| Blue Ridge Elementary | Debbi White | Spcial ed/iPad & keyboard case | $361.95 |
| Blue Ridge Elementary | Laura Hughes | Classroom books | $500.00 |
| C.W. Shipley Elementary | Jennifer Miller | Special Education/Reading program kit | $363.00 |
| C.W. Shipley Elementary | Lori Koresmaros | STEM lab materials | $255.00 |
| C.W. Shipley Elementary | Jennifer Szemborski | Reading app for school iPads | $479.76 |
| Driswood Elementary | Wendy Paris | Apple TV | $118.95 |
| Driswood Elementary | Angela Weaver | Music/(2) Key-tuned Tubanos w/storage bags | $500.00 |
| Driswood Elementary | Rebecca Graham | Apple TV for all 3rd grade classrooms | $475.85 |
| Harpers Ferry Middle School | Maxine Householder & Mary Simmons | Classroom books | $496.85 |
| Harpers Ferry Middle School | Michele Miller | iPad/apps | $500.00 |
| Page Jackson Elementary | Cheryl Crawford | Music/Instruments | $500.00 |
| Ranson Elementary | Brandi Ellwein | “Osmo: iPad accessory | $500.00 |
| South Jefferson Elementary | Peggy Grantham & Shannon Dinges | Afterschool Engineering Club supplies | $300.00 |
| Washington High | Amy Stolipher | Forensic course materials | $498.87 |
| Washington High | Jason Smith | Holocaust mosaic mural materials | $500.00 |
| Wildwood Middle | Cagney Helmick | Afterschool program materials (board games) | $500.00 |
| Wildwood Middle | Michael Withrow | Agriculture Education/indoor vegetable garden | $500.00 |
| Wildwood Middle | Alice Dillow | Math Library | $478.41 |
| Wildwood Middle | Colleen Snyder | Special Education/Hammock swing chair/stand | $348.00 |
| Wright Denny Intermediate | Nona Payne | Butterfly garden maintenance materials (mulch, seeds) | $196.94 |
| Total | $8,373.58 | ||
| BERKELEY CO | |||
| Berkeley Heights | Katelyn Wolf | Classroom library – books, storage, furniture | $500.00 |
| Eagle School Intermediate | Kasie Miller | Enrichment/NASA E-Mission program | $500.00 |
| Hedgesville Elementary | Lisa Taylor | 8 STEM Kits to be shared amongst 8 K classes | $468.17 |
| Hedgesville High | James Sensel | Wood shop/Porter-cable cordless tools | $327.97 |
| Hedgesville Middle | Kelly Sholl | Spanish/Classroom books | $96.05 |
| Hedgesville Middle | Joanna Banks | (35) Computer lab workstation headphones | $350.00 |
| James Rumsey Tech | Brian Zeger | Automotive Technology/Hybrid Safety program tools | $281.65 |
| James Rumsey Tech | Skip Lantz | Simulated workplace program – gun cabinet materials | $428.03 |
| James Rumsey Tech | Wayne Bennett | Community Garden – raised bed materials | $500.00 |
| Martinsburg High | Jim Arndt | Robotics Team materials | $500.00 |
| Martinsburg High | Rhonda Foreman | ACT/SAT vocabulary and grammar prep materials | $450.84 |
| Martinsburg North Middle | Mary Gail Updike | History books | $374.24 |
| Martinsburg North Middle | Esther Golant | Science/Composting program materials | $279.98 |
| Martinsburg North Middle | Donna Steele | Speech Translator for ESL students | $434.95 |
| Martinsburg South Middle | Kristy Fisher | Structural and mechanical engineering/Lego kits | $460.00 |
| Mill Creek Intermediate | Kristina Sloan | History/Classroom book sets | $370.82 |
| Mill Creek Intermediate | Jessica Warner | White board easel & table for small group instruction | $376.18 |
| Mountain Ridge Middle | Ben Holben & Nelson Oliver | White board dry erase sleeves & markers | $497.52 |
| Mountain Ridge Middle | Mark Albright | Band supplies (wind visualizer, digital recorder, reeds) | $100.00 |
| Mountain Ridge Middle | Melissa Hissem & Tiffany Haney | Classroom book sets | $500.00 |
| Mountain Ridge Middle | Deniel Busey | Classroom book set | $180.00 |
| Mountain Ridge Middle | Beth Sedlar | “Lunch Bunch” counseling games & materials | $250.00 |
| Musselman High | Samantha Thomas | Science/Microslide viewer, case, & lesson sets | $498.50 |
| Potomack Intermediate | Amanda Brust | Classroom book sets | $450.00 |
| Potomack Intermediate | McKenna Flohr | Classroom book sets | $420.00 |
| Potomack Intermediate | Ashley Torres | (2) laptops & (2) wireless mice | $437.96 |
| Spring Mills High | Craig Arch | Special Ed/Checks & balances classroom set | $145.00 |
| Spring Mills High | Tyler Butts | Science/Water & soil test kits | $500.00 |
| Spring Mills Middle | Julia Campbell | Special Ed/Science materials (microscopes) | $350.00 |
| Spring Mills Middle | Andrew Omerzo | “Auggie and Me..” anti bullying book set of 10 | $120.00 |
| Spring Mills Middle | Sara Shen | Special Ed/Science materials-microscopes | $435.47 |
| Spring Mills Middle | Karen Greenfield | Wall hanging system for art gallery wall in library & software upgrade & microphones for student news program | $481.94 |
| Spring Mills Middle | Samantha Slone | Learning station supplies (headsets, splitters, markers) | $272.05 |
| Spring Mills Primary | Sonja Waters | Dry erase boards/erasers | $130.47 |
| Spring Mills Primary | Kaitlin Hillman | Math games | $450.00 |
| Tomahawk Intermediate | Laura Kurutza | (6) Snap circuit sets | $191.70 |
| Tomahawk Intermediate | Lauren Mance | Classroom book set & physical science activity labs | $331.15 |
| Valley View Elementary | Jennifer Reed-Grimmett | After school club materials | $500.00 |
| Valley View Elementary | Laura Rihn | Music/Inflatable instruments, puppets, CD-ROMs | $442.52 |
| Valley View Elementary | April Rearick | Indoor garden supplies | $352.62 |
| Winchester Avenue Elementary | Roseann Eells & Whitney Navratil | (4) Lego Education sets | $454.75 |
| Total | $15,190.53 |
