Impact Newsletter - January 2023
President's Message
Check out the video below from the PPS Foundation President, Cindy Morris!
Thank You for Supporting our 365 Breakfast!
We are so grateful to all who came out to support this event. Thank you, thank you! If you'd still like to donate to our 365 Annual Giving Fund, please click the button below. These donations support so many of our programs - new uniforms and clothing for students, food for our Little Free Pantries, our career readiness programs and so much more!
Check Out Buzz Chats: a PPS Foundation Video Series!
Each month we connect with different members of our community to talk about our public schools and how they interact with current events in Peoria. The video chat is streamed live on our Facebook page. This month we will be chatting with Chris Rohwedder and Linda Wilson about teacher recruitment and the Peoria Grow Your Own program. Check it out at 6 PM this Thursday, January 19th.

We also keep old episodes up on our page so scroll through to catch any you may have missed! 
Congrats to our January HERO of the month, Kim Getz!

Kim is a teacher at Manual High School (and a 2022 PPS Foundation Classroom Grant recipient!). She considers her students family and works tirelessly to provide an exceptional educational experience for them. She bakes them homemade cinnamon rolls, makes sure each day starts with a hot breakfast and gives them Christmas gifts each year.

Our HERO award was started in 2019 to recognize employees and community people who go above and beyond in working with our PPS students. Kim truly does this and it was such an honor to give her this award from the PPS Foundation. Congrats Kim!
Adopt-A-School Program
We completed our first Make the Grade Conference at Sterling and Lincoln in November with some wonderful volunteers who will also be coming out to the same schools again in March.

This is a great opportunity to connect with a school and students to make a difference in their perspective on learning and wanting to strive for more. If you are interested in participating for the next school year, please reach out to our Adopt-A-School Coordinator as an individual or as an organization. 
We are also still looking for Little Free Pantry sponsors for our Trewyn and Elise Ford Allen Academy schools. Please contact our Adopt-A-School Coordinator, Janet Ham, if you are interested and want to learn more. Janet can be emailed at janet.ham@psd150.org.
PPS Foundation Scholarships Now Opened!
More Ways to Support the PPS Foundation!
WE ALSO TAKE ONLINE DONATIONS!
Click the picture below to donate.
All proceeds from the sign advertisement go directly to help Peoria Public School's campaign to improve the stadium property. Feel free to reach out to Jen Adler at jennifer.adler@psd150.org for more information on pricing, artwork or any other questions!
Thank You to our Community Partners!
We'd like to give an especially big shout out this month to Starbucks, Hy-Vee in Sheridan Village and K2 Benefits for going above and beyond to further our mission to improve the quality of education in Peoria Public Schools!
PPS Foundation's Board of Directors:
Dan Adler, Andre Allen, Beth Crider, Solivian Dismuke, Maarten de Haas, Alex Elger, Kim McGhee, Cheryl Sanfilip, and Doug Shaw

Ex Officio Board Members:
Dr. Sharon Desmoulin-Kherat (PPS Superintendant) and Mike Murphy (PPS Board of Education)

PPS Foundation's Staff:
Cindy Morris - President
Trish O'Shaughnessy - Director of Programming & Community Engagement
Jen Adler - Administrative Director
Janet Ham - Adopt-A-School Coordinator
Matt Violet - Data and Programming Logistics Coordinator
Jaleesha Allen - Career Program Coordinator
Annalee Anderson - Career Tech Advocate
Ellie de Buhr - Career Tech Advocate
Catherine Murray - Career Tech Advocate
Olivia Smith - Career Tech Advocate