Dec. 5, 2023

What:     
SAISD Foundation to award its 200th Mini-Grant  

Who:     
Judy Geelhoed, SAISD Foundation Executive Director 
Mary Flannigan, SAISD Foundation Grants Manager 
Music Teacher and Mini-Grant Award Recipient

When:   
Dec. 6, 2023 (Wed), 1:30-2:00 p.m. 

Where:   
Collins Garden Elementary, 167 Harriman Pl, San Antonio, TX 78204  
  
The SAISD Foundation will surprise Collins Garden Elementary School on Wednesday, December 6, 2023, with an award for their “Drums for Little Hands and Big Hearts!” grant. Media are invited to join the Foundation for the surprise visit and an opportunity for photos with the recipient immediately following the presentation.

This is a first-time grant for elementary music teacher Ms. Quintanilla. In her application, Quintanilla stated “While researching and learning different strategies to make this a reality in the classroom I came across the major health benefits of drumming! Having a class set of hand drums also provides a creative way of reinforcing content. When it comes down to reading, writing, and playing rhythms, each student is exercising their math skills. Students who sometimes think they are not good at math, but love music, can find a way to practice the core skill.”

Since the start of the 2023-2024 school year, the Foundation has awarded over $40,000 in mini-grants to schools. This grant marks the 200th award this fall. All San Antonio ISD educators are invited to apply for a mini-grant of up to $500 through the DonorsChoose platform. This is a milestone award for the Foundation - number 200 for the school year.

“This milestone is very exciting for us! We are committed to supporting our teachers and students, and a key way we do this is by awarding grants to schools. During the 2022-2023 school year, we were able to award 703 grants thanks to our generous donors and supporters,” said Judy Geelhoed, executive director for the SAISD Foundation.

As the education foundation for the San Antonio Independent School District, the SAISD Foundation is a 501(c)(3) public charity with a mission to motivate the community to deepen investments in our students and teachers, and in doing so, invests approximately $3 million a year in SAISD students, teachers and programs. Gifts from our donors help us respond to critical challenges facing our students and add value beyond what state public funding can provide to ensure the 45,000 students in San Antonio ISD have a robust, 21st-century education.