LAPS Foundation Student Board Member Ruby Selvege and LAPS Foundation Executive Director Laura Loy prepare for the upcoming telethon fundraiser. Photo by Kirsten Laskey/ladailypost.comBy KIRSTEN LASKEY
Los Alamos Daily Post
kirsten@ladailypost.com
The Los Alamos Public Schools (LAPS) Foundation is gearing up for its annual telethon fundraiser and the students are running the show.
LAPS Foundation student board members Ruby Selvege and Vincent Marciano are organizing the fundraiser. Both have served on the foundation board for two years.
The telethon will be held Feb. 15-27 at the Pajarito Cliff Sites. Selvege explained Key Club and National Honor Society members will help volunteer to call parents of LAPS students to bring awareness to the foundation and raise money for it. The goal is to raise $2,000. Students will work two hours each night and the foundation will provide food to volunteers.
LAPS Foundation Director Laura Loy said proceeds from the telethon will go toward grants for district teachers. The foundation’s spring grant cycle is now open and is accepting applications through Feb. 28. Grants fall into three categories: Great Ideas Grants, Professional Development Grants, and Professional Book Group Grants.
“All the hard work the students are doing will directly impact those grants,” Loy said.
According to a press release, this is the fifth year the LAPS Foundation has conducted the student telethon.
Selvege said planning the fundraiser has been a positive experience. “I think it will be a good experience to help plan something,” she said. “It is a chance to say thank you (to the community for its support).”
In fact, she said being a part of the LAPS Foundation board has been a great experience. Selvege said, “It’s been really cool.”
She added previously she had never been on a board before and in fact hadn’t been aware of the LAPS Foundation before joining its board. Although Selvege said it was initially overwhelming she learned a lot and gotten to see things from a different perspective.
Loy explained student board members hold just as much responsibility as their adult counterparts. “Their responsibilities are equal to any other board member,” she said; adding a student’s vote carries the same amount of weight as the superintendent.
During her tenure on the board, Selvege said the board has achieved a lot. “The board has accomplished so much that I think it’s really cool.”
She listed a few things such as renovating the middle school band room, awarding grants and providing participation awards to science fair participants.
“It’s all really cool,” Selvege said.
Loy added she is impressed with the young board members’ work. “If I had more than two thumbs, I would give them more than two thumbs up,” she said.
Loy said they came onto the board, they contributed to a very rewarding organization and energized everyone.
She urged everyone who receives a call from a student during the telethon to be kind and any contribution will be gratefully accepted. Loy added there are numerous ways people can support the foundation, such as writing a check, giving with a credit card online, and/or making the foundation a recipient on their Smith’s rewards card.
To learn more about the LAPS Foundation and how to get involved and/or make a donation, visit www.lapsfoundation.com or call 505.500.6501.
