As Holly Phillips was recovering from a kitchen accident involving boiling water, she wondered if her students at Eisenhower Elementary School would know what to do in an emergency.
That incident prompted her to apply for a grant last year through the Lawton Public School Foundation to provide third through fifth graders with first aid kits. She applied for the grant, which is where Sovereign Title stepped in.
“Every year Sovereign Title calls us and says ‘send us the top five grants that didn’t get funded,’” said Foundation Executive Director Lisa Carson. Phillips’ grant happened to be one of those, but Sovereign Title decided to help her out.
“We just feel like some things should be funded that don’t get funded,” said Denise Scarborough, of Sovereign Title. “We basically donate when we can. A lot of people don’t do it (donate) and it needs to get done.”
Carson said the first aid kits are just one example of the Lawton community working together to provide resources for teachers and students. She said sometimes small businesses can’t afford to individually support more than 20 schools in the district, but they can give to the Lawton Public School Foundation (LPSF), which supports the entire district.
Local businesses will have the opportunity to support the school district at the LPSF breakfast Sept. 19 at Golden Corral. The dine-in only event will be held from 6-9 a.m. Tickets are $25 for regular attendees and $15 for LPS employees. Tickets are available at all LPS schools, Liberty National Bank or at the door.
Carson said 90 cents of every dollar raised at the breakfast will go toward grants for teachers. The breakfast is one of three fundraisers the Foundation holds each year. The others are a golf tournament and a ladies bingo event.
In all, last year the Foundation gave 109 grants totaling $130,000, with grants ranging from $100 to $15,000, Carson said. The grants directly impact students, she said, telling of how a MacArthur High teacher asked for funds for specimens for students to dissect. Without the specimens, students would watch a film about the process, she said.
“There is nothing better than hands-on,” she said.
Phillips agreed, noting the first aid kits given to students gave them something tangible to take with them after they attended the first aid training session.
“It was items they may not have had at home,” she said, adding she saw many of the kits in the students’ backpacks. “We could not have provided them without the Foundation. It shows students and staff that Lawton as a community supports us by making us feel seen and finds value in what we do.”
“The success of the breakfast drives how much we give out in teacher grants in November,” Carson said. “To me, the breakfast has turned into a Lawton tradition. For employers, it’s a nice way to thank their employees by giving them a ticket for breakfast. It’s a good day for families to bring their kids out and enjoy breakfast.”
Teachers may apply for grants during the month of September. Grants should prioritize innovation, how many students will be impacted, the life of the item and how the item will increase student achievement, Carson said. She said grants also are a big help to first-year teachers who may not have many resources with which to work. Grant recipients will be notified in November.