Foundation holds annual fundraiser

The Atlanta Education Foundation held its annual Blue Jeans and Bling event on Saturday at Texas Music City in Linden.

The sold-out event was attended by approximately 230 people consisting of community members, local business sponsors, Atlanta Independent School District staff, and the Atlanta Education Foundation board of directors. Dinner was catered by Outlaw BBQ. A silent and live auction were held, and a live band called Ambush performed at the event.

The money raised from the silent and live auction, along with the help of a few other fundraising tools such as the foundation’s 1875 annual pledge club in which supporters give $18.75 per month for a year and the Legacy Bricks, the foundation has been able to award over 150,000 in grants to Atlanta schools.

Last year the foundation was able to assist in implementing a topnotch STEM program at Atlanta Middle School. In the past 2 years, the foundation has been able to double its profits from previous years and fund nearly $60,000 worth of grants due to the support for Blue Jeans & Bling from our community.

Brooke Giesler, Vice President of Atlanta Education Foundation expected this year’s Blue Jeans and Bling to be their best year yet.

Giesler said, “Our goal is to enrich teaching, inspire learning, and enhance opportunities to meet the mission of excellence in education for all Atlanta ISD students.” Atlanta Education Foundation was formed in 2010 and governed by a

board of directors. Grants from the foundation allow teachers to purchase supplies, equipment, resources, and implement programs that exceed the school’s standard operating budget.

“Our hope is that these enhancements will set our students up for a lifetime of success so that they can be well prepared for the world ahead of them when they graduate from Atlanta High.”

Giesler added, “I feel that it has had a positive effect on our community as well. It has unified our community and paved the way for so much support from financial donations to volunteer opportunities. It and has increased the standards for our schools and community. My husband and I have 4 kids in AISD. We both grew up in the same school system, moved away for 15 years for college, work, and a time in the Air Force. We lived in several states and overseas during that course of time but decided when it was time for our oldest to begin school that our own hometown would be ideal to raise a family in. So we moved back in 2011. We weren’t sure what it would be like living here after 15 years of being away, but we have been so impressed with our AISD schools and community. I feel very blessed to raise my family in a small town with big goals, high standards, and tremendous community support!”