Dear Friends,
The Carbondale Education Foundation was founded as a new 501(c)3 just over 8 months ago with the goal of bringing our community together in support of Carbondale’s public schools. We’ve been incredibly fortunate to receive overwhelming support for our work in that short time, and we’ve already reached some critical measures for success. Because of your generosity, we’ve already raised over $80,000 for important projects that will greatly benefit our schools and our community. With your help, we aim to hit the $125,000 mark by the start of the school year so we can maximize the support we provide to all of Carbondale’s public schools.
We’ve only just begun to show the potential of what can be accomplished when a community rallies around its schools. In order to help our schools reach their full potential, we need community members like you to join us in our efforts. Please join us in our mission to raise funds in support of Carbondale public schools for the betterment of our community!
Here's some updates of your commitment in action:
$40,000 Raised for a School Based Health Center at RFHS
Founding members of CEF met with community members, parents, and school leaders in the fall of 2023 to learn about the collective desire for a school-based health center at Roaring Fork High School. The school-based health center will provide improved access to health care services for all school-aged children in Carbondale. After hearing from a variety of stakeholders, we agreed this would be our very first fundraising goal for the Foundation. Thankfully, we were met with widespread community support and managed to raise the $40,000 contribution in our first few months of operation. Construction for the school based health center is targeted for the summer of 2025! In addition to raising $40k for construction, we’ve also received an incredibly generous in-kind donation that will furnish the new facility.
$20,000 Raised to Support Keeping Music in Carbondale Schools
CEF is proud to have helped secure $20,000 in funding to support the hiring of a music teacher for Crystal River Elementary School. With our help, CRES was able to find and hire a great candidate for the 2024-2025 school year.
Educator Grants for Programming Enhancements Launching in August
With limited funding and resources, teachers are often left with great ideas that go unfulfilled. We hope to open the doors of possibility with a robust teacher grant program. This school year, CEF will be rolling out a grant program that will allow all teachers in Carbondale’s public schools to request funding up to $5,000 to support projects that will improve their work and the educational experiences of their students. We plan to be in schools in early August to roll out the details of our application and award selection process.
CEF is the 2024 Cowboy Up Beneficiary
Every year Cowboy Up hosts an event celebrating Carbondale’s Western heritage while supporting a local nonprofit. CEF has been selected for the 2024 Cowboy Up event on Friday, August 23. The event, held at 4th & Main in downtown Carbondale, will feature live music, live and silent auctions, food from Slow Groovin’ Barbeque, drinks, dancing, and a mechanical bull! We need your help to make this event a huge success. Please see all the ways you can get involved below to make this a great event:
Volunteer for Cowboy Up - We are still in need of volunteers to help at the event. Please consider using the above link to sign up for a volunteer slot.
Silent Auction Donations - We are in need of items for the live and silent auctions. All proceeds from the auctions will go directly to the CEF Teacher Grant Program (mentioned above) to allow our teachers to get the funding they need to provide the very best educational experience for our children.
Buy a VIP Table - tables are $1000 each and seat 10 people. Your purchase of a table includes entry for 10 guests, food for everyone at the table, plus 10 drink tickets.
Attend Cowboy Up on Friday, August 23! Even if you aren’t able to donate items or volunteer, please consider coming out to enjoy Cowboy Up. General admission is only $10 to get in the door. From there, you can purchase Slow Groovin’ BBQ, hit the cash bar, dance to live music, try your hand at the mechanical bull, and get involved in the action of the silent and live auctions.
With Gratitude,
The CEF Board of Directors
Jamie Nims
Jon Baiardo
Jess Klumb
Marni George
Marjorie Arnold
Katy Nardecchia
Matt Buchanan
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