Funding for educational initiatives in Connecticut’s Northwest Corner remains a priority for BTCF, as evidenced recently by a promising pilot and a significant education enrichment fund milestone.

In July, we supported a summer enrichment pilot for Region 1 middle schoolers as part of our regional investments in programming to prepare students for success in school and careers. The weeklong program, made possible by the Northwest Corner Fund, featured hands-on, inquiry-based activities. Students played the part of scientist and engineer via STEAM-based exploration with Flying Cloud Institute, and expanded their understanding of local agriculture with the HVRHS Agricultural Education Department. Outdoor activities, from ultimate frisbee to mountain biking, complemented daily
enrichment offerings.

June marked the (pandemic-delayed) 20th anniversary celebration of SOAR — Seek, Originate, Aim, Reach — the nonprofit enrichment organization for Salisbury Central School now supported by the BTCF fund of the same name from which it originated. To honor two decades of helping students reach their potential through learning opportunities beyond the classroom, students worked with a professional artist to produce a mural depicting future careers and dedicated it to the late Zenas Block — founder of both the fund and SOAR — who died in 2008.

“I know that Zenas would have loved how creative this [mural] was,” SOAR Executive Director Linda Sloane told The Lakeville Journal following a ceremony in which she was also thanked for her five years of service and congratulated on her retirement.

Grants from the SOAR Fund support a range of annual projects that promote the self-discovery, talents and interests of SCS students; the organization’s goal is to build a lifelong love of learning for students in areas outside the daily curriculum through workshops, assemblies, drama productions and more.

Since Berkshire Taconic launched its first education enrichment fund in 1996, we have partnered with hundreds of generous donors to establish and grow funds for every public school district in our region.

Originally published in BTCF News Fall 2022