Board president Michael Hannon, Kara Kane and Nancy Phillips. Photo by Mary Hannon

The S-GI athletic department invited members of the SGCEF board to the girl’s varsity basketball game on Thursday, Feb. 2 to thank them for awarding the district a grant that went toward the purchase of 11 banners, which are now on display across the walls of the high school gymnasium.

The grant was one of several made in 2011 to teachers and community groups, and was made possible by the fund raising efforts of the board throughout the year and especially during its signature event, the silent auction and wine tasting, held each November. See a portion of the banners in the background!

(Please email Kara at support@sgfound.org for any corrections or additions to this list. We tried to be as accurate as possible.)

Submitted to the Journal:

At its December 1 meeting the board of the Springville-Griffith Community Education Foundation (SGCEF) joined with volunteers and members from the Springville Center for the Arts to celebrate the success of the silent auction and wine tasting fund raiser on November 12. Seth Wochensky, director of the SCA, accepted a check for $25,000 to support construction of classroom space and repairs to the exterior of its building.

With Spring Creek Athletic Club again donating its space for the event, over 300 guests turned out to bid on silent auction items, to hear performances by school district and community musicians, and sample selections from Barefoot Wine.

Supporters of the SCA helped to drive the number of silent auction offerings to 80 – the event’s highest number ever – which included many original art pieces.

SCA offers performance, exhibition, cinema and workshop programs for adults of all ability levels, and for children. The organization collaborates with Springville Youth Incorporated, and continues to provide workshop programming on topics such as musical theater and fine arts. Now housed in the former First Baptist Church, SCA has doubled its youth involvement, which has created a new and urgent demand for classroom space.

The Foundation has raised over $100,000 in its five-year history, supporting projects and programs for the Springville-Griffith Institute Central School District and community organizations. Grant applications for projects up to $5000 for local individuals and groups will be accepted in 2012.

Through the project, students will be designing non-fiction textbooks for students in a sister school in Sierra Leone, where students have had to struggle through civil unrest, including war and slavery.  School is a luxury for these students, but they do not have the textual materials that line the shelves in our own classrooms.  Students’ books, on self-selected topics of interest for various grade levels, will help to bring hope and peace, and bring our sister students the friendship and love needed to construct their dreams.

According to Apryl Poch, special education teacher at SGI High School, “Some of my students have started creating books on global history topics, creative writing, sports, and cooking.  While I haven’t been able to provide the students with many visual representations during the “construction” of the web pages, the new site is currently up and running at http://e-luminate.org/.  Various videos, photos, PowerPoints, and sample books are available on this website.  These “visuals” help show what students will be doing.”

Entertainment came from three local groups: Bella a Cappella, Springville-Griffith Institute High School Jazz Band and Springville Community Jazz Band. If you left when the auction item winners were being announced, you missed the Jazz Band playing a medley of songs from the Blues Brothers!

The Foundation met its goal of $25,000 to support a capital improvement to the Springville Center for the Arts, and a final total will be officially announced soon.

A listing of all the local companies, organizations and individuals who made this great evening possible will be listed on this web site soon.

The first $25,000 raised from this event will benefit the Springville Center for the Arts as they construct classroom space to expand course offerings for adults and children in the community.

Entertainment will be provided by the Springville Community Jazz Band, Bella a Cappella and the Springville-Griffith Institute Jazz Band. Mike Randall of WKBW will serve as the master of ceremonies.

Over 45 auction items have already been collected, including gift certificates from many local restaurants, stores and services, an original painting from Dean Haglund (X-Files actor and artist) and tickets for upcoming Buffalo Bills and Buffalo Sabres games.

For tickets, please contact support@sgfound.org or (716) 592-2296. Pre-sale tickets are $25 per couple or $15 for a single. At the door, tickets are $30 per couple or $20 for an individual.

Wine selections are generously provided by Barefoot Wineries.

The Foundation notified the applicants of the awards in August, and funds are being distributed to them throughout the fall.

• Books of Hope: Enriching Student Literacy Here and Abroad. Apryl Poch, Springville-Griffith Institute High School
• Visualize Learning in First Grade. Christina Campbell, Springville Elementary School
• SGI Guitar Club Jam Hub. Tim Hooker, Springville-Griffith Institute High School.
• Digital/Visual Literacy Project. Angela Occhino-Ginnitti, Springville-Griffith Institute High School.
• Middle School Aquaponics Equipment. Joseph Karb, Springville Middle School.
• Interscholastic Banners. Joe DeMartino, Springville-Griffith Institute High School.
• E-read to Succeed. Karen Landau, Springville Middle School.
• Grand piano replacement and repair, partial funding. Karen Jurkowski, Springville-Griffith Institute High School.
• Colden Senior Center Gaming Activity. Stephanie Czerniak, Town of Colden.

The funding for these projects was made possible through the donations of community members and local businesses from the Foundation’s 2010 annual fund raiser. For 2011, the Foundation has scheduled its fourth annual wine tasting and silent auction fund raiser on Saturday, November 12. The first $25,000 raised will go toward the Springville Center for the Arts, as they construct classroom space and make repairs to their building exterior. Additional funds raised will go toward mini-grants and grants in 2012 and other community projects. For more information, visit sgfound.org.

As a multi-arts center, the SCA offers performance, exhibition, cinema and workshop programs for adults of all ability levels, and for children. The organization collaborates with Springville Youth Incorporated, and continues to provide workshop programming on topics such as musical theater and fine arts. Now housed in the former First Baptist Church, the SCA has doubled its youth involvement, which has created a new and urgent demand for classroom space.

Based on its record of success in previous years, the SGCEF plans to give $25,000 to SCA to support construction of classroom space and repairs to the exterior of its building. Nearly 100 local businesses, organizations and individuals contributed to the 2010 fund raiser, and plans are in motion for an even larger event for 2011. Silent auction items, donations and gifts in kind to support the event, scheduled for Saturday, November 12, are being actively collected by board members over the next six weeks. The event will be held again at the Spring Creek Athletic Club on West Main Street in Springville, and tickets will be available after Oct. 10 from Spring Creek Athletic Club, the Springville Center for the Arts, any board member, or by emailing support@sgfound.org.

All those who have submitted grant requests will be notified of the results soon after the foundation’s next meeting on July 7, when the board will discuss each application and make decisions about distribution. The board will also continue with preparations for its annual fund raiser, the wine tasting and silent auction, on November 12, 2011. Award information will also be posted on this web site.