BCEF Donates $20,000 To Batesville Schools For Flexible Spaces

This marks the third major donation from BCEF to BCSC for flexible learning spaces and brings the total donated by the education foundation itself to $70,000.

(Batesville, Ind.) - A third year of fundraising for flexible learning spaces (FLS) in the local public schools has culminated in a $20,000 donation from the Batesville Community Education Foundation (BCEF) to the Batesville Community School Corporation (BCSC). In recognition of that financial commitment from BCEF, the John A. Hillenbrand Foundation and the CREATE Foundation, as part of a larger project benefiting all the local schools, will also be donating a combination of $28,000 to this project, bringing the total donated to BCSC from the three foundations to $48,000, according to BCEF executive director Anne Wilson.

“Our third BCEF annual campaign this summer raised about $15,000 for this project, with several thousand other dollars set aside for a new program,” Wilson noted. “As the BCEF board of directors was reviewing the campaign results and deciding on the amount it could award, BCEF was made aware of an opportunity to work in concert with these other two foundations who support innovation in order to maximize the opportunities for BCSC. BCEF’s increased commitment at the $20,000 level would mean more matching funds from the John A. Hillenbrand Foundation and the CREATE Foundation. It was an investment our foundation’s board of directors was willing to make for our students.”

This marks the third major donation from BCEF to BCSC for flexible learning spaces and brings the total donated by the education foundation itself to $70,000. Prior years’ funding from BCEF has been used for a complete transformation of one Batesville High School (BHS) English room in 2017 and, in 2018, three first-grade rooms were affected at Batesville Primary School (BPS) and a variety of pieces were placed in all third-grade classrooms at Batesville Intermediate School (BIS). Money from the 2019 donation is earmarked for pieces in all Batesville Middle School (BMS) sixth-grade classrooms ($15,000) and a donation toward components in the BIS Media Center ($5,000). In addition, the $28,000 from the John A. Hillenbrand Foundation and the CREATE Foundation will be divided among each of the four BCSC buildings, each receiving $7,000 for FLS renovations.

“BCEF jumped in to support the flexible learning spaces program almost three years ago when BCSC indicated it had the need,” Wilson said. “Cooperative funding opportunities like this one with the John A. Hillenbrand -MORE-

Foundation and the CREATE Foundation show that our pledge to support innovation has been noted by others and is taking root. BCEF is committed to financially supporting the FLS project for as long as necessary.”

“The willingness of BCEF to increase its funding to $20,000 so those dollars could be leveraged to help more students reflects the depth of commitment of this organization to education,” said Paul Ketcham, BCSC superintendent. “BCEF’s pledge indicated to the other two foundations that our school corporation had the backing to support another large-scale donation from them. We are blessed to live in a community where three organizations are willing to make significant financial contributions to help students.”

“BCEF would like to thank the John A. Hillenbrand Foundation and the CREATE Foundation for working with our organization to expand the impact on students,” Wilson said. “These flexible space transformations are expensive, and with the three foundations collaborating like this, we are moving more quickly toward flexibility in every single classroom. That’s a phenomenal achievement.”

The Batesville Community Education Foundation is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization. Its mission is to provide additional funding for innovative learning opportunities that go beyond the basics in academics, athletics, and the arts in the Batesville public schools, enhancing the educational environment for all students. For more information, visit their website at BatesvilleEducationFoundation.org or call Wilson at (812) 934-2194.