Commentary by Larry Lannan
Volunteers are at the cornerstone of work done at the Hamilton Southeastern Schools Foundation, and as president of the board, Joe Eaton is the head volunteer. Joe has spent six years on the foundation board and is part of a 25-member board, all volunteers.
There is also the part-time Executive Director Lisa Allen. Lisa has been with the foundation from the beginning. The foundation celebrated its 10-year anniversary in 2011.
Joe Eaton is proud of the many programs the foundation funds for the local school system. The 10-4-10 program was put in place to observe the tenth anniversary of the foundation, to emphasize the power of just $10 contributed to the foundation.
If you ask Joe about any of the programs supported by the foundation, he’ll talk about Dollars for Scholars, Thank-an-Educator and Fitnessgram. All are conceived and funded by the foundation and its volunteer board.
With all the opportunities for community involvement in Fishers, Joe chose the school foundation because “the schools here are phenomenal.” He says the foundation touches “all aspects of the school corporation. You get to work with administrators like (Supt.) Dr. (Brian) Smith and Mike Reuter.”
There are two events coming up soon where you can help the foundation.
First, a Meet and Greet is set for a discussion with Supt. Smith to talk about the new technology initiative, HSE 21, which has a goal of 1-to-1 technology for staff and students in the school system by providing each a tablet computer. This will happen at the Hearthstone Coffee House & Pub, Wednesday from 7:30 to 10:30 a.m. The coffee, continental breakfast and conversation are all free.
The second event will be the Game Day 2013 fund raiser at the FORUM Conference Center, March 21, at 6 p.m. This ties in with the opening round of the NCAA men’s basketball tournament.
The HSE Schools Foundation relies on its many corporate sponsors and local individual donors. However, it relies mostly on its volunteer board members and others in the community willing to donate time and effort to its many fund-raising and other projects.
If you’re thinking about becoming a volunteer and haven’t chosen to take the plunge yet, Joe asks you to remember, “Fishers is a fabulous place to live for a lot of reasons, but one of the primary reasons is the quality of our schools. It’s important that we have community volunteers continue to contribute to the expansion and enhancement of our kids’ education.”
You can learn more by visiting www.hsefoundation.org or by calling 594-4100.
