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Who’s Ready For ZEF Bash 2022?
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Writer // Janelle Morrison • Photography // Courtesy of ZEF
Mark your calendar for the 2022 ZEF Bash on Saturday, November 5, 2022! The Zionsville Education Foundation’s (ZEF’s) annual fall fundraiser is an integral part of ZEF’s ability to fund grants for Zionsville Community School’s (ZCS’) teachers, students and schools. You won’t want to miss this fun evening!
Come casual or dress it up a bit! “Show Your School Spirit” by wearing your Zionsville Eagles gear or that of your favorite team in appreciation for all ZCS teachers, administrators and staff for the students and community.
Guests can participate in a gift card pull or the silent auction, where they will have the chance to bid on AmFund’s trips of a lifetime or, of course, ZEF’s famous Cap off the Night, where this year’s ZEF hat will be revealed — all while raising funds for future ZEF grants.
Grants in Action
What Is ZEF?
ZEF is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization — awarding grants that enable and reward academic excellence in Zionsville while strengthening partnerships among schools, families, businesses and communities.
Funded by donations from individuals, small business partners and corporate sponsors, ZEF works to directly impact kids, teachers, classrooms and schools. Since its founding in 1995, ZEF has awarded more than $1.5 million in classroom, professional development and student enrichment grants.
ZCS is the lowest-funded public school district per student in the state of Indiana. ZEF funds innovative classroom projects, professional development for teachers and student experiences not otherwise available to educators and students. Your sponsorship and/or donation is an investment in public education, granting resources not available to our school community through tax dollars.
These dollars can only be replaced through the generosity of the community’s corporate, small business and individual donors. And as the school district continues to grow, it will be even more critical that ZEF grows its donations alongside the schools in order to keep the continuum of financial support going.
ZEF Executive Director Lyle Browne gave some details about a couple of the grants that have awarded this year thanks to generous donors and sponsors, and she spoke about the impact of these grants on ZCS students and staff. “To date in 2022, ZEF has awarded more than $121,000 in grants across all nine ZCS schools,” Browne said. “We are grateful to the Barth Family Fund, Duke Energy and the Schwarz Family Foundation for their support. This year’s ZEF Bash Premier Sponsors are Barnes & Thornburg, Skillman Corporation and TDS. All of our sponsors help make this event a success and, even more importantly, enable ZEF to continue bringing teachers’ innovative ideas to life for their students.” ZEF BB Ad 9-22 DRAFT.indd 1 9/22/2022 9:14:42 AM Browne shared that a ZEF 2022 Spring Classroom Grant “Sharing the Power of our Stories through Written Word and Graphic Arts” was awarded to the ZMS humanities team (Emily Wleklinski, Mary Pat Huber, Brittany Moon, Ben Cole, Jessica Day, Sarah Oxley and Shannon Elkins). This grant brought Mr. Harrell to the school for two different sessions. Students worked with their teachers before and after each session
on writing personal narratives, and many students participated in a novel study of Mr. Harrell’s book Wink.
Browne added, “Mr. Harrell talked with the students about his career evolution from artist to novelist, his personal inspirations for writing the novel Wink and his illustrations as inspiration for his stories. He shared his creative process with the students and led a discussion of how they can apply character development techniques in their own writing. Mr. Harrell also used student ideas to create one-of-a-kind illustrations on the spot of characters they were including in their narratives and worked with students one on one on their own illustrations. His generosity to the students came not only through his time with them but also through his words of encouragement. He thoughtfully answered questions and enthusiastically supported the young writers and artists.”
With the opening of the brand-new Trailside Elementary School this year, Browne stated that ZEF presented the new elementary school staff with a $13,000 “ZEF Grant Starter Pack” that included highly successful elementary grants that have been awarded in past years throughout the district to help the teachers get started.
ZEF Bash 2022 cochair Sarah King shared some of the exciting and fun details that guests can expect at this year’s fundraising event.
“We’re sticking with the same theme, ‘Show Your School Spirit,’ that went over really well with people last year,” King said. “I’d say 80 percent came showing their Zionsville school spirit, and some people pulled out their old college sweatshirts. I think I even saw some old cross-country jackets!”
King continued, “We brought in the [Zionsville] Alumni Association to help with Zionsville history and with decorating with pictures and other various items. We’ll have the walk-through ‘Zionsville Through the Years’ table again like we had last year and that a lot of people enjoyed. And for entertainment, the local women’s group ‘The Janeways’ will be performing for the VIP hour, which is exciting, and then Day and Ray will be playing again this year later that evening. The event will run similarly to past ZEF events with a few extra new surprises!”
Interested in Being a Sponsor or ZEF Bash VIP?
Zionsville Monthly is proud to be a sponsor of this remarkable event. So, join us as a ZEF Bash VIP for $125/person and enjoy a VIP reception at 5:30 p.m., an open bar, and dinner. Patron tickets for $75/person ($85 after 10/21) include a 6:30 p.m. event start, dinner, and a cash bar. All ticket types include a silent auction, gift card pull, trips of a lifetime, and dancing to the sounds of Dave & Rae. Buy your tickets today — limited tickets available, so don’t wait! This event WILL sell out!
Qtego is your one-stop location for ZEF Bash bidding and event fun. Check back the week before the event to register in advance to bid on the Silent Auction, Gift Card Pull and AmFund Trips and to participate in ZEF’s famous “Cap off the Night!”
Event sponsorships are available at a variety of levels. Learn more about how your business can help bring ZEF grants to life, show ZCS families that your company cares about educational excellence in our community or purchase your ZEF Bash 2022 tickets at zionsvilleeducationfoundation.org.
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