BIG SPRING, TX — The H.O.P.E. Foundation grants were awarded during Tuesday’s Big Spring ISD Convocation for the 2024-2025 school year. Almost $14,000 in grants were awarded on Tuesday morning to teachers who had applied for a grant for “out-of-the-box” type projects.
H.O.P.E. stands for Helping Our Pupils Excel. According to Executive Director George Bancroft with the Big Spring Area Community Foundation, Ken McIntosh started it with a few thousand dollars, but Virginia Miller named it. She later left $100,000 to the foundation when she died.
Since its inception 11 years ago, there has been $200,000 in grants awarded.
Grants awarded are as follows:
Project: Extreme Christmas Steer Baking
School: Big Spring High School
Amount of Grant: $1,625
Submitted by: Teresa Chavera, Andrea Cervantez and Dominique Baxter
Description: Every year the life skills students make banana bread for Christmas over the past several years. This project has grown, and the students have been borrowing equipment from the cafeteria. Also the cost of cooking supplies for the bread is challenging. The funds asked for will be used to purchase both groceries and large bakeware. The students will learn culinary skills as well as social skills with this project and money earned will be used to buy future needed equipment.
Project: Champion Club
School: Marcy Elementary
Amount of Grant: $1,600
Submitted by Meagan Seal
Description: The Champion Club is a character, education and citizenship program integrated in the schools positive behavioral interventions and support program use and Marcy elementary, grades 1-2. This program rewards and recognizes students who are diligent in the classroom or demonstrates citizenship qualities and awards are given to these students.
Project: Baking Steer Dreams Come True
School: Big Spring High School
Amount of Grant: $6,000
Submitted by Jacolyn Jackson
Description: This project will help the passion that every student has within them through the creation of food. This grant will help the culinary department at the high school reach 150 students each year and achieve important learning skills for those students. With this grant the department will purchase equipment that will elevate the culinary classes and competition teams.
Project: Poster Maker
School: Marcy Elementary
Amount of Grant: $2,570
Submitted by Meagan Seal
Description: Anchor charts are important to students learning as they help students take ownership of their own learning and provide much needed reference material when students need support answering questions. This purchase would allow teachers to digitally create charts. Students would be able to use the chart as a learning tool, and the poster maker could be used for all learners.
Project: Recycle It Again
School: Big Spring High School
Amount of Grant: $2,180
Submitted by: Christina Raney
Description: This is a continuation of last year’s high school wide recycling program. Teachers were provided with a box for used paper. The Life Skills students picked up recycling every Wednesday and Thursday and bagged it up. A local recycling company picked up the bagged paper every Friday. By continuing this program, the hope is to inspire teachers and students to take better care of the environment. This program will also help the functional life skills students.
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