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Photos by Harvey Raab
February 16, 2022
Education Foundation event raises more than $70,000 for Bandera ISD schools
By Alyssa Cothran
BISD Education Foundation President
Baubles & Boots 2022 was held Saturday, Feb. 12, at Antler Oaks Lodge. The evening started with hors d’oeuvres, drinks and mingling. Throughout the night, there were several silent auction tables (we had about 60 items this year), and at the end of the night, we had a live auction with about 14 of our bigger items. This year for our live auction items, our focus was experiences, with a few tangible items. Some of those included shadowing Gary Bitzkie as superintendent for the day, SA Rodeo tickets, and zoo passes.
This year our donors, sponsors and guests showed up and shattered records. After the night was over and all expenses were counted, we raised over $70,000 that will go directly back to the schools in the form of grants. We were blown away by the generosity and support shown to our foundation and cannot wait until next year.
In the past four or so years that I have been on the board, I’ve seen growth occur in leaps in bounds. We went from giving about $30,000 in grants during the first year that I served to almost $65,000 to the schools last year, and we are expecting to exceed that again this year. The generosity and selflessness of the people and businesses in our community is the only way we continue to grow and thrive. We’re so blessed with all of the support we’ve received, and cannot thank everyone enough.
Baubles & Boots is put on by the BISD Education Foundation in an effort to raise funds that benefit all four of our schools. Those funds are returned to the schools in the form of grants. Every year, teachers are asked to apply for a grant that is innovative and goes above and beyond the what the school district is allotted. The board then review the grants, chooses the winners up to the approved budget, and awards the grants so the teachers and staff can implement these new ideas to the classroom. We have helped to fund things such as the SSEP program at the middle school, a book vending machine at Alkek, an outdoor learning area at the high school and numerous other ideas.
For more information, go to educationforbandera.org and learn more about who we are and what we do.
This year our donors, sponsors and guests showed up and shattered records. After the night was over and all expenses were counted, we raised over $70,000 that will go directly back to the schools in the form of grants. We were blown away by the generosity and support shown to our foundation and cannot wait until next year.
In the past four or so years that I have been on the board, I’ve seen growth occur in leaps in bounds. We went from giving about $30,000 in grants during the first year that I served to almost $65,000 to the schools last year, and we are expecting to exceed that again this year. The generosity and selflessness of the people and businesses in our community is the only way we continue to grow and thrive. We’re so blessed with all of the support we’ve received, and cannot thank everyone enough.
Baubles & Boots is put on by the BISD Education Foundation in an effort to raise funds that benefit all four of our schools. Those funds are returned to the schools in the form of grants. Every year, teachers are asked to apply for a grant that is innovative and goes above and beyond the what the school district is allotted. The board then review the grants, chooses the winners up to the approved budget, and awards the grants so the teachers and staff can implement these new ideas to the classroom. We have helped to fund things such as the SSEP program at the middle school, a book vending machine at Alkek, an outdoor learning area at the high school and numerous other ideas.
For more information, go to educationforbandera.org and learn more about who we are and what we do.