We are delighted to congratulate the Sammamish Leads Program by Bellevue Schools Foundation for being the grant recipient of the 2017 Bill Henningsgaard Fund for Children. This year the focus area of the grant was ‘Transitions – Grades 8 to 9 and 12 to College’.
The Sammamish Leads summer program is a seven-day experience in which rising ninth-12th-grade students engage in problem-based learning alongside teachers and local professionals from industry partners in a variety of fields.
“We are thrilled to receive the 2017 Bill Hennisgaard Fund for Children grant in support of the Sammamish Leads Program. This experience helps smooth critical transitions from middle to high school and high school to college and provide students opportunities to connect classroom theory to real-world problems. Sammamish Leads makes a world of difference to participating students and their families. We’re grateful to Eastside Pathways for their commitment to our Bellevue students,” says Lynn Juniel, Executive Director at Bellevue Schools Foundation. (Read the letter )
The grant will be used to offer scholarships to 10 students who have one or more risk factors, such as students from low-income, underrepresented minority, or first-generation college families.
The students in the program have the opportunity to engage in real-world work, preview a possible career, and develop the communication, collaboration, and technology literacy skills critical for success in high school, college, career, and life. They are presented with a range challenges from local businesses and organizations. Some of the industry partners this year include the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, City of Bellevue Urban Planning Department, Integrus Architecture, Waypoint Pediatric Therapies, and City of Seattle Arts and Culture Department.
The Bill Henningsgaard Fund for Children was established to honor Bill Henningsgaard’s commitment to children and belief in the power of collective impact. Bill launched Eastside Pathways when he saw the challenges faced by low-income, immigrant, non-English speaking, and children with special needs in Bellevue. He felt that in our resource-rich community, failing even one child was unacceptable. The goal of the Fund is to ensure that the funds are leveraged, allocated to different partners each year, and help Eastside Pathways achieve its shared goals of providing all students with the opportunity to succeed in school and in life.
Previous Grantees
2014 (Focus area: Summer and Extended Learning) – Bellevue Family YMCA
2015 (Focus area: School Readiness and Early Learning) – Chinese Information and Service Center. The award allowed the organization to host a Spanish bilingual Kaleidoscope Play & Learn group in Bellevue
2016 (Focus area: Attendance and/or Tardiness) – Community Truancy Board. The grant money was used to assist students and families in need to carry out the recommendations set by the Community Truancy Board.
Applications for the 2018 grant will open in February 2018 and the focus area will be College and Career Readiness.