The South Bend Education Foundation has been awarded a $25,000 grant from the American Electric Power Foundation, upon the recommendation of Indiana Michigan Power (I&M). The grant will support the Foundation’s Teacher Wish List and Teacher Store initiatives. Both efforts provide support for teachers through funding of needed items and directly providing classroom supplies.
“I&M has long been a partner with the South Bend Education Foundation and South Bend Community Schools to help further education efforts. We are so excited to receive this support from the AEP Foundation,” said South Bend Education Foundation Executive Director Steve Funk. “We all know that our dedicated teachers spend a great deal of their own money on classroom supplies. The Foundation helps to offset that with these two programs.”
Students use their new dry erase boards provided through the Teacher Wish List initiative of the South Bend Education Foundation.
The Teacher Wish List is an application-based program, where teachers can apply for mini-grants up to $300 to support classroom needs. The Teacher Store is a room that is stocked with typical classroom supplies, which teachers may pick up free of charge.
“The grant from the AEP Foundation will allow us to expand the Wish List to a year-round program and open the Teacher Store quarterly,” Funk continued. Both efforts were historically seasonally offered around the back-to-school and winter break times of the year. “We also intend to provide further support for teachers by making them aware that if we have basic items in stock which they need, the Foundation will support them by delivering these items directly to their school.”
“Teachers and educators often use their own money to add supplies and various materials to their classrooms and these initiatives will help avoid that,” said Indiana Michigan Power External Affairs Manager Mona Livingston. “The AEP Foundation and I&M want to make sure teachers and students have the necessary tools to educate our future community members and future innovators.”
The South Bend Education Foundation is a non-profit 501(C)3 organization that is dedicated to enriching the learning experiences for students and teachers of the South Bend Community School Corporation. More information about the Foundation is available at www.edfo.org.
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Indiana Michigan Power (I&M) is headquartered in Fort Wayne, and its approximately 2,100 employees serve more than 600,000 customers. More than 80% of its energy delivered in 2021 was emission-free. I&M has at its availability various sources of generation including 2,278 MW of nuclear generation in Michigan, 450 MW of purchased wind generation from Indiana, more than 22 MW of hydro generation in both states, nearly 35 MW of large-scale solar generation in both states, and 2,620 MW of coal-fueled generation in Indiana.
The American Electric Power Foundation is funded by American Electric Power (Nasdaq: AEP) and its operating subsidiaries. The Foundation provides a permanent, ongoing resource for charitable initiatives involving higher dollar values and multi-year commitments in the communities served by AEP and initiatives outside of AEP’s 11-state service area. The Foundation focuses on improving lives through education from early childhood through higher education in the areas of science, technology, engineering and math; by meeting basic needs for emergency shelter, affordable housing and the elimination of hunger; and championing social and racial justice. Other Foundation support may be offered to protect the environment, promote healthcare and safety, and enrich life through art, music and cultural heritage