News : Vinton-Shellsburg Community School District Foundation seeks donations to defray costs to benefit students

Students from Vinton-Shellsburg high school's American Humanities class will be visiting the Sullivan Brothers Iowa Veterans Museum in Waterloo. They will be accompanied by four local veterans of the armed services on Wednesday, February 8th. The Vinton-Shellsburg Community School District Foundation is asking for donations to help defray the cost of admission to the museum and other worthwhile K-12 student initiatives throughout the year. Donations can be made by dropping off a check or sending one to the Administrative Central Office at 1502 C. Avenue, Vinton, IA 52349. The cost of admission to the Grout Museum for 40 students is $219. By covering the cost, the Foundation will be able to assure that all students interested in learning directly from veterans and the exhibits of America's wars will be able to do so. Checks should be made payable to the Vinton-Shellsburg Community School District Foundation. The Foundation is a tax deductible, 501 (c) 3 organization. Learn more about the Foundation at www.vscsdfoundation.org. Last year 21 students from the American Humanities class were on the trip and it was a memorable event for both students and veterans. John Anderson, an infantry veteran of the Vietnam War, was on last year's trip and had this to share. "The Sullivan Brothers Iowa Veterans Museum has excellent exhibits from all of the wars, from the Civil War to Vietnam."� John says, "The Vietnam exhibit has a bunker the students can go inside, various examples of propaganda, a helicopter and so much more. The students can look up an Iowa veteran's name and see where they were from, or they can look up a town and see who served from that community."� In John's opinion it was an excellent educational experience for the students. "Sure, they're out of school for a little while, but I think the students really have their eyes opened because they're learning from people who lived through a time that would otherwise just be a few pages in a text book."� Mary Jo Hainstock, superintendent of schools, also shares John's assessment and recently said, "Our teachers do a great job of educating our students day-to-day - but experiences outside the walls of the school building provide much-needed opportunities for our students. Through them, they can see how the things from a textbook can be applied, can see original artifacts, and can learn from experts. One of the greatest challenges is how we continue to fund these experiences for our students while facing budget constraints."� A few veterans were in the classroom on the 26th of January to help prepare students for the trip by speaking about their experiences and answering questions. "Two of us were from the infantry, another was a combat engineer, there was an air force veteran, and one from communications,"� Mr. Anderson said, "so the students were able to hear about very different experiences of the war in Vietnam."� The Vinton-Shellsburg Community School District Foundation was formed in 1999. The Foundation now has assets of almost $1.3 Million, donated for and used primary to provide scholarships for graduating seniors. "In the past the Foundation has been highly focused on scholarships and serving as a tax-deductible entity for contributions to larger projects like the animal learning lab,"� says Teresa Meyer, president of the Foundation. "Our hope is to establish a renewed emphasis on providing greater support for Pre-K through 12th grade education. The trip to the Sullivan Museum of Iowa Veterans is an example of the supplemental educational support we want to provide."� "I think our schools do an excellent job of honoring veterans to assure that students understand our nation's debt of honor and gratitude for veterans who died, and those who came home,"� says Kurt Karr, a member of the Vinton Shellsburg Community School District Foundation board. "I think it's even more admirable that the Vinton-Shellsburg schools strive to instill a personal feeling of gratitude in the hearts of our students, rather just passing along information in books and school lessons."� Again, if you wish to support this trip and other projects of the Foundation, please send a tax-deductible contribution to the Foundation at school's central office address, or donate online at www.vscsdfoundation.org.