By Dale M. King
Photos by Audra Hodges
BOCA RATON – It’s a challenge these days for any organization to distribute $50,000 to the local education community.
But the Greater Boca Raton Chamber of Commerce’s Golden Bell Education Foundation did it Sept. 8. It handed out checks during a membership breakfast to officials from 13 Boca schools and one scholarship fund. The money is raised annually through special events and donations.
Since its inception in 1991, the Golden Bell Foundation has distributed more than $978,000 to public schools in Boca Raton, kindergarten through grade 12. And
West Boca Community High School Encore Ensemble.
the foundation is on track to hit the million dollar payout figure in 2011 – coincidentally, in honor of its 20th year.
“We will hit our mark in 2011 – yes, we will hit it,” emphasized J.C. Perrin, director and past chairman of the Greater Boca Raton Chamber of Commerce and chair of the Golden Bell Education Foundation. He was keynote speaker at the breakfast.
Chamber President and CEO Troy McLellan said the annual donations underscore the organization’s commitment to education. He thanked the sponsor of the breakfast, TD Bank, which has a partnership with the Chamber that aids the educational foundation.
Perrin started his talk with a simple question: “How many of you went to school?” The display of hands showed “the critical part of our climate that education plays. Nearly 20 years ago, the Golden Bell Education Foundation was started to bring much-needed funding to Boca schools. What kids are doing today is amazing.”
He said the money provides the tools students need and “helps to keep our schools competitive.”
Golden Bell, he said, will mark its 20th year in 2011 with a “big event in the spring.”
To show how one program begun with Golden Bell cash has prospered, teacher Robin Barkes and fifth grader Ricki Hendricksen from the A.D. Henderson University School at Florida Atlantic University came to the podium. Ricki told how the “Going Green” program had sprouted from the third to the fourth grade, a feat the school “would not have been able to do without the Golden Bell money.”
Boca Tribune Managing Editor Dale King with Rosemary Krieger.
Before contributions were handed out, Golden Bell Education Foundation director Charles Shane noted that this year, the foundation has an actual golden bell which was next to the podium. He then sought donations for next year’s program and raised $13,000 just from those in attendance.
This year’s round of donations went to projects that emphasized literacy and career education.
The following photos show award recipients with Chamber President and CEO Troy McLellan and chair of the Golden Bell Education Foundation. Some show members of the audience in attendance. Also, no one was present to accept the award for Boca Raton Community Middle School.