Ferndale Education Foundation Party to Raise Money to Boost Schools

Supporters of education can dance, dine and bid on some deeply cool prizes at the ’s annual auction Thursday.

The auction is a major fundraiser for the Ferndale Education Foundation, which provides minigrants to teachers that will enrich learning for their students. Some of the projects funded last year include:

• at and transportation home afterward.
• A workshop for with the Detroit Dance Collective encouraging students to use music, rap and poetry to explore the importance of environmental action.
• Weekend ACT/Michigan Merit Exam camps for high school juniors.

Last year’s auction raised more than $20,000 and helped fund large and small activities at all schools within the district.

This year’s event features a Mardi Gras theme, with dinner provided by and desserts from . It starts at 6 p.m. Thursday at . This is the second year Boogie Fever has hosted the event.

“It’s been a lot more fun there for people to do the auction, and they can dance and do other stuff, too,” said Bradford Parks, vice president of the Ferndale Education Foundation.

Treat Dreams also donated one of the more interesting auction items: the chance to design your own ice cream flavor and have it named after you. The winner’s concoction of choice will be featured on the Treat Dreams ice cream menu.

Another big draw is a raffle for a Ford Fusion and several cash prizes. Raffle tickets cost $20, and only 3,000 will be sold.

More than 50 grants were awarded last year, averaging about $400 per grant, said Jessica Stilger. Stilger serves on a committee that evaluates each teacher's grant proposal and decides how much the foundation can help.

“What we’ve tried to do is fund as many (proposals) as possible, even if they are partially funded,” she said. “It might get them a piece of what they want to do, and they can try to find matching funding from something else.”

Although budgets are tight for schools all across the state, leaving little money for extras, Stilger points out that the foundation has been around for 15 years and has always served to spur creative ideas in teachers and help them make those ideas reality.

And while parents of school-age children will confess to sometimes feeling fundraising fatigue, Stilger noted that there’s a strong awareness that all the money raised stays within the community and directly enhances education.

“By attending the event and buying raffle tickets, and the more people who participate, the more we can put back into the community,” she said.