Today we’d like to introduce you to Matti Jackson.
Matti, can you briefly walk us through your story – how you started and how you got to where you are today.
The Addison Elementary School Foundation (AESF) was formed by parents in 2008 in response to a growing need to provide additional academic enrichment activities at Addison Elementary School. We opened our amazing AESF science lab on April 22, 2010, making us one of the few elementary schools in our area with such a lab at that time.
While originally we operated under the Cobb County School umbrella, last year we officially became our own independent non-profit 501(c)(3)! Today we continue to completely support the AESF Science Lab at Addison Elementary School. This includes paying the teacher’s salary and all lab supplies. We also take great pride in providing each Addison teacher with funds to supplement their classrooms resources as well as purchasing close to fifty iPads for classroom use.
Has it been a smooth road?
While we’ve been fortunate to be able to continue funding our science lab, we have faced our fair share of challenges. In particular, we have struggled to increase parent participation both with monetary donations and volunteering at our fundraising events.
Our ability to fund the science lab and teacher salary is dependent on parent and community donations. Even though every single student participates in, and benefits from, the science lab, we have struggled to get above 30% parent participation in our annual funding drive.
We also struggle in educating our parents on the differences between AESF and the PTA. Although both organizations contribute to the school experience and academic enrichment of our students, not all parents are aware that AESF is 100% responsible for the science lab expenses and teacher salary. We believe that more families would be willing to donate to AESF if they truly understood that our beloved science lab and teacher depended on it.
Lastly, we struggle in rounding up enough volunteers to assist at our events. We’ve been fortunate to have a core group of parents, grandparents, neighbors, and community members consistently volunteer their time in the science lab to help educate our children. However, it’s the same few familiar faces at our after-school events, including the Father-Daughter Dance, Boovie Night, and our annual 5k.
Our goal is to increase parent participation to 50% both in donations during the funding drive and volunteering at our after-school events.
We’d love to hear more about your business.
If you ask any one of our board members what they are most proud of, you will get the exact same answer to this question: “Our science program and our school administration!” We are delighted with our AESF science lab and our science teacher, Mrs. Julie Knobbe. We could not ask for a more dedicated teacher for our little school and our children. But what makes this whole program even more extraordinary is the support we receive from our Principal, Susan Hallmark, and our Assistant Principal, Brad Cohen. They not only support Mrs. Knobbe and her curriculum, but they are also the biggest advocates for AESF. They constantly educate parents about what we do, and are willing to participate in just about anything to help us reach our fundraising goals.
Last year they spent a morning on the roof of the school. And just last week, they let the students and teachers tape them to the wall after we met out first goal of raising $20,000. Mrs. Hallmark and Mr. Cohen have now committed to kissing a pig in front of the students and faculty if we reach of funding drive goal of $32,000. In another display of their full commitment to being AESF’s biggest cheerleaders, they wrote a song and recorded a music video for the students about the rules for the solar eclipse glasses that AESF purchased for each student and teacher. (https://vimeo.com/230020663)
Last year we added two big fun events to our fundraising calendar. The first was Boovie night, a Halloween trunk-or-treat and movie night on the school lawn. The second was a sold-out Father-Daughter Dance. The success of these two events lead us to add a Mother-Son event in the spring to this year’s fundraising calendar. Our board and volunteers are already working on the details, and we’re confident that the committee will come through with another great event for our families to enjoy.
So, what’s next? Any big plans?
Looking to the future? I guess we could give the easy non-profit answer, to raise more money for our science program! Of course, that remains the core mission, but we really want the Addison families to feel like they are part of something truly special! We want everyone to feel the joy of knowing that their contribution goes directly to the snake that lives in our lab, the chicks that hatch every spring, the gardens that grow on our school grounds, and most importantly the wonderful Mrs. Knobbe that our students love. We hope to be viewed less as an organization that fundraises, but more as volunteer parents committed to providing all the children at Addison Elementary with the best education that we can. What parent wouldn’t want to be a part of.
Contact Info:
- Address: Addison Elementary School Foundation
3055 Ebenezer Rd.,
Marietta, GA 30066 - Website: http://addisonelemfdtn.wixsite.com/addison-foundation
- Email: Addisonfoundationpres@gmail.com
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/AddisonFoundation/
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