A fundamental keystone to what makes America a special place is equitable access to quality public education no matter where a young person calls home.
But despite this agreed-upon truth, for some, classroom spending oftentimes does not meet the needs of both students and teachers across the Grand Canyon State.
From now until Oct. 16 all Arizona K-12 public and charter school teachers are eligible to apply for a Desert Financial Fiesta Bowl Wishes for Teachers grant. In the end, 200 Arizona educators will be presented with a $2,500 grant meant to shoulder classroom supply costs.
At Fiesta Bowl Charities, officials report over the past four years, wishes have ranged from new computers for classrooms to special education sensory and manipulative materials, vision testing and glasses for students, laundry machines and everything in between.
“Fiesta Bowl Charities Wishes for Teachers started with a simple concept, and that was how can we honor our teachers who do so much for our children and raise the bar for education?” said Fiesta Bowl Charities Board of Directors Chairman Patrick Barkley. “Desert Financial Fiesta Bowl Wishes for Teachers provides grants that help teachers financially and give their students resources they likely otherwise wouldn’t have in their educational pursuits.”
Mr. Barkley says he has seen first-hand the positive impacts this grant program has on Arizona classrooms.
“The Fiesta Bowl has three core pillars for our charitable activities and that’s youth, sports and education,” he said. “Wishes for Teachers hits the nail on the head in our mission, with education being the core for future success for our community’s children. This program supports our teachers financially and celebrates them for the dedication and devoted work they do to set students on a positive pathway for life.”
For Mr. Barkley, teachers are the unsung community heroes of our society.
“Our teachers are unsung heroes and Wishes for Teachers shines a light on the selfless work they do daily,” he pointed out.
Desert Financial Credit Union CEO Jeff Meshey agrees.
“Quality education is a key factor in improving the lives of Arizonans, and in breaking the cycle of poverty,” Mr. Meshey said. “We believe our public schools and teachers have been often maligned over the past few years, and we want to help celebrate the many success stories in the public-school sector.”
An education-based financial institution
Mr. Meshey explains the reason for Desert Financial Credit Union stepping up to be title sponsor of this year’s effort is an illustration of the natural progression of what the bank was built to stand to represent.
“As a credit union founded by school teachers, supporting education has always been important to us at Desert Financial,” he said. “This exciting annual event is a natural extension of our own teacher appreciation program so when the opportunity presented itself, we jumped at the chance to become the title sponsor. We also signed on as title sponsor of the Arizona Educational Foundation’s 2020 Teacher of the Year awards, so we’re honoring our founders’ legacy in so many ways!”
Operating for 81 years in Arizona, Desert Financial is the state’s largest local credit union with $6 billion in assets, more than 330,000 members and 47 locations across the Valley.
Mr. Barkley contends their support of the Wishes for Teachers grant program is making a difference.
“Desert Financial Fiesta Bowl Charities Wishes for Teachers financially supports teachers, who we know almost universally take money out of their own pockets to invest in their classrooms,” he said.
“Providing these grants are critically important because oftentimes what is purchased by these grants wouldn’t otherwise be accessible to teachers and schools for the benefit of their students. We’ve seen the grants be used to purchase eyeglasses for students who couldn’t afford them, washer/dryer for students to have clean clothes, technology that will serve several years of classes or a trip to perform in places students could only previously dream about.”
In 2019, Desert Financial gave nearly $11 million to Valley nonprofits, the community and members.
Mr. Meshey points out the slogan, “more than just a game” goes further than a soundbite for those at Fiesta Bowl Charities.
“The Fiesta Bowl has a great slogan, ‘more than just a game,’ and they’ve certainly proven it over the past few years with more and more ambitious contributions to our community,” Mr. Meshey said. “We love partnering with this generous, enthusiastic group because our mission and vision align so well with theirs.”
Since 1971, the Fiesta Bowl is a world-class community organization that executes innovative experiences, drives economic growth and champions charitable causes, inspiring pride in all Arizonans during and outside of college football bowl season.
Fill out the online application at wishesforteachers.org, detailing a teacher or classroom worthy of consideration for the Wishes for Teachers grant program.
Executive Editor Terrance Thornton can be reached at tthornton@newszap.com
Terrance Thornton
Executive Editor
@ININEWSMAN
tthornton@iniusa.org
I am an enterprise community newspaperman constantly trying to improve the craft of purposeful reporting in turn empowering the readership of our various publications and website.
I follow every lead and strive to provide a balanced approach to both traditional and emerging reporting styles and mediums.
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