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DeFusco Law arms 18 teachers with supply funds

BY ALEX GALLAGHER Progress Staff Writer

DeFusco Law firm awarded 18 teachers in the Scottsdale Unified School District $300 stipends to use toward school supplies this year. The Scottsdale firm does this twice a year and awards 10 teachers with stipends. But this year, the firm allocated additional funds to its effort through a recently settled claim referred to the firm by a Cocopah Middle School staff member. “This round was different,” said Bryn K. DeFusco, who founded DeFusco Law with her husband Andy in 2016. “We decided we would donate our fees back to the school district and we thought what better way than through seeSUPPLIES page 21

Bryn K. DeFusco has been offering $300 stipends to 10 teachers since 2018 but opted to award 18 teachers

this year. (Courtesy of Greg Sexton) Marcia DeMuro, who teaches advanced engineering and in the STEM lab at Cocopah Middle School, used her stipend to get new tripods and circle lights to assist with her video production classes. (Courtesy of Greg Sexton)

Marking the award of the grand prize to Aid for Adoption of Special Kids in May 2019 are, from left, Mallory Reis, Julie Turko of Adoption of Special Kids, Brian Yampolsky, Alan Graham and Sasha Graham. (Courtesy of Brian Yampolsky)

Giving Group makes big impact on charities

BY ALEX GALLAGHER Progress Staff Writer

The Giving Group AZ is a philanthropic group that meets every 90 days to decide which charity to award a grand prize of $10,000 to. Consisting of over 110 members who contribute $100 every three months, the group has found that everything has gone according to plan despite the uncertainty and chaos brought on by the pandemic. “In 2017, we started the Giving Group AZ and it’s been going exactly according to plan,” the group’s founder Brain Yampolsky said. Yampolsky started out with a simple plan to get the group to 100 members, which took him about a year to achieve. “When you get 100 people together and they each contribute $100, you get $10,000 that can make an impact on some local nonprofits,” he said. Through word of mouth and staying active on social media platforms like Facebook, Yampolsky has found a way to keep his group growing and maintain over 100 members. “Our recruiting has been 100 percent through word of mouth and social media,” Yampolsky said. “I started with friends in my closest circle and once I recruited them, I asked them for their help in finding new members.” Now that he has a consistent base, the challenge Yampolsky is faced with every 90 days is keeping members engaged and growing the group. “It’s a consistent effort to remind peo-

the stipend program.” DeFusco Law, which represents accident victims and their families, started its Classroom Supply Stipend in 2018 and has since donated more than $25,000 for certified teachers to use. This year’s recipients are: Hohokam Elementary’s Susan Barnes and Chloe Flitton; Anasazi Elementary’s Dawndy Bendet; Coronado High’s Sara Cain and Marissa Palmer; Cocopah Middle School’s Marcia DeMuro and Carline Fried; Desert Canyon Elementary’s Katie Honeycutt; Chaparral High’s Malcolm Leinwhol and Noël Rosenthal; Echo Canyon K-8’s Lisa Port and Jennifer Wells; Tonalea K-8’s Dr. Paula Slamowitz, Alexandra Valenzuela and William Williams; Navajo Elementary’s Robin Wiley and Brandy Wilson; and Ingleside Middle School’s Rhonda Witherspoon. Malcolm Leinwhol, a biology teacher at Chaparral, plans to use his stipend to purchase Owl pellets, mitosis microscope slides, predator-prey lab manipulatives, as he feels “students learn science by doing science.” “With these supplies, more of my students will be doing science,” Leinwhol said. His colleague Noël Rosenthal, who also teaches biology, used the money to purchase three skulls from the canine family to use as a visual aid when teaching about evolution. Rosenthal estimates the skulls will assist over 160 students in her classes this year and in the years to come. One teacher used the money to update her classroom and get supplies to buttress her curriculum. Wilson teaches 5th grade at Navajo and has already used the stipend to purchase three new wobble chairs – which she said her students love – along with some popit silicone discs to use as a tool to help with pronouncing multisyllabic words and consumable paper bags to use for projects. “I learned long ago that students get really excited to learn when learning is fun,’’ Wilson said. “I know on my teaching and planning side that this “fun” also engages the growing brain.” Wilson was not the only one to make some updates to her classroom. Slamowitz teaches social studies at Tonalea K-8 school and plans to use the stipend to purchase supplemental materials for her students to create hands-on learning activities. “This stipend was used to update some classroom decorations in my room to make my room more engaging for my students to learn in,” Slamowitz said. Other teachers, like Lisa Port of Echo Canyon K-8, used the stipend to load up on general supplies for middle school students and eliminate any stress that students may have about not having things they need. “It is one less stress the students will have. Middle school is hard enough without any extra worries,” Port said. “This will allow students to quietly come into my room to get what they need and not have to worry or become upset.” The stipend will also help replace a beloved figure that was lost in the fire at Navajo Elementary school. Kindergarten teacher Robin Wiley had purchased a puppet of The Little Old Lady from the book series that was only used once before it was lost in a 2018 fire. Wiley plans to purchase a new puppet to use for story time along with several

Robin Wiley, a kindergarten teacher at Navajo Elementary School, bought some art supplies with the stipend she received from DeFusco Law. (Courtesy of DeFusco Law) seeSUPPLIES page 22

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ple that are in the group to invite a friend or two,” he said. Yampolsky has also found that the group’s members generally fall into two categories: “The people that are involved in the group either want to just contribute to something that gives back, and others are involved with nonprofits and want a chance for their nonprofit to win our big prize.” No matter what category members fall into, they all enjoy voting on which charity should get the $10,000 grand prize. Four members are randomly selected to speak on behalf of their favorite nonprofit and the members get four minutes to speak. Most of the time, these members will bring a representative from that organization to speak. From there, every contributing member of the giving group casts a vote to select the charity they feel is worthy of the grand prize. Yampolsky describes the process as “a really fun way to have an amplified impact on the community.” Since the grand prize is $10,000 and each member donates $100, if there are more than 100 contributing members in the group, the group will divide up the remaining money and distribute it across the other three charities. “I think what is unique about our group is that you get to be a part of something that is having an impact on our community and when you hear nonprofits speaking every 90 days, you get an education of these amazing organizations,” Yampolsky said. The most recent winner of the grand prize on May 28 was Go With the Flow, a non-profit that offers education and feminine products to young women. Previous grand prize winners have been the Homeless ID Project, which aims to help homeless people rebuild their lives by assisting them in getting an ID, and Desert Stages Theatre, which Yampolsky was actively involved with prior to starting the Giving Group AZ. In total, the Giving Group AZ has donated to 16 nonprofits since its inception and Yampolsky has found a common theme among each of the organizations. “There’s one consistent theme in all nonprofits, and that is they all need money,” He said. “This donation can mean the difference between being able to stay open and having to shut down.” Yampolsky hopes that message will encourage people to become members of the Giving Group AZ and donate to all the nonprofits it works with. “If you can be a part of the donation, it takes a good thing and makes it a great thing,” He said. Yampolsky encourages new members to join via the giving groups website, tggaz.org and to attend the groups meeting later this month via Zoom. “We have a few non-members who go to our meetings and before the meeting is over, they will join just so they can vote on the winning charity,” he said.

SUPPLIES ���� page 21

art supplies. Beyond awarding several supplies, DeFusco Law also gave an unexpected prize by eliminating the burden of teachers using their own money to buy supplies. “For the first time in my 19-year career, I was able to enjoy back to school shopping for my classroom without worrying about my wallet,” exclaimed Carline Fried, a 7th grade math teacher at Cocopah Middle School. DeFusco Law saw 70 teachers apply for the stipends this year and has plans to award at least five more stipends this December. Though DeFusco has no limit to what the teachers can use the stipend money for, she does hope that the students benefit from the items purchased. “When we have happy teachers and our teachers are supplied, our kids will get educated well,” DeFusco said. She also hopes this will spur future donations to schools across the state. “My hope is that more businesses and community members will step up and want to help out local schools even if it’s not with this program,” DeFusco said.

Information: defuscolaw.com

Next meeting

When: August 26 Where: Zoom Cost: Voting members must contribute $100 every three months Info: tggaz.org

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