Kari Hooket-Leep, executive director of the Grand Island Public Schools Foundation, speaks at a May 12 meeting where results of the staff giving campaign were announced, (Carol Bryant, Central Nebraska Today)
GRAND ISLAND – The 22nd annual Grand Island Public Schools Foundation staff giving campaign surpassed its goal in results announced May 12.
Kari Hooker-Leep, executive director of the Foundation, said that the goal was $92,000. The total amount raised was $101,074. The money came from staff and board members of the Grand Island Public Schools and Grand Island Public Schools Foundation. She said that the amount was the third highest raised in the program’s history.
“I’m so excited,” Hooker-Leep said.
The results were announced at a meeting open to staff and other campaign participants at 4 p.m. May 12 in the Bill Marshall/Five Points Bank Champions Hall at Memorial Stadium. Approximately 30 staff members and people affiliated with the campaign were on hand for the announcement and wore long-sleeve purple T-shirts.
“You guys crushed it,” Hooker-Leep said after announcing the total.
Hooker-Leep praised the staff, because of the approximate 1,600 staff members, 85 percent participated in the campaign. She said that degree of participation is high compared to campaigns in other school districts.
Joel and Terry Wiegand of Grand Island provided a $5,000 matching gift for the campaign. The matching gift was for all new or increased donations to the Foundation. Joel Wiegand had a 49-year career as a CPA in Grand Island. Terry Wiegand is a former school district teacher at Gates and Stolley Park Elementary Schools. Their two sons attended Grand Island Public Schools.
“We are really pleased we could be part of the campaign,” Joel Wiegand said.
Before making the campaign announcement, Hooker-Leep listed some of the items that the Foundation funds. She said that the Foundation funded $693,000 in scholarships. The Foundation awards staff member of the year awards in several categories. The Foundation also awards classroom mini-grants.
According to a school district news release, the Foundation invested $1,148,951 into various programs, scholarships, and grants during the 2023-2024 school year.
There were 25 teams participating in the campaign, Hooker-Leep said. The campaign ran from April 1 to April 25.
She said that the school district has approximately 10,000 students.
Grand Island Public Schools staff and other people associated with the school district’s foundation staff campaign stand on Jack Martin Field inside Memorial Stadium on May 12 at the conclusion of the meeting to announce results of the Grand Island Public Schools staff giving campaign, (Carol Bryant, Central Nebraska Today)
