The Whittier Tech Foundation, a nonprofit that provides scholarships, backpacks, footwear and even food for students in need, is celebrating its fifth birthday.
The Whittier Tech Educational Foundation has supported Whittier Regional Vocational Technical High School since 2016. It won the praise this week of Whittier Tech Superintendent Maureen Lynch.
“It makes me truly proud of our Whittier Tech community to see the way a few small acts of kindness blossomed into the force that the Whittier Tech Educational Foundation has become in the past five years,” Lynch said, explaining “Our school is a community in which we all watch out for and support each other, and the lessons we learn from our community are just as important as the skills we learn in classrooms and shops.”
The Foundation, with a board consisting of school staff, community members and parents plan and launch efforts aimed at preparing students to be successful and productive members of society.
The Foundation helps plan events such as the Whitter Tech Golf Tournament, Kentucky Derby, and Holiday Drive Fund, while also providing things like tool kits, vocational uniforms and gift cards to students and families in need throughout the school year.
Students are referred to the Foundation through the Student Services Department, and faculty then partner with the Foundation to distribute items like backpacks, work boots, winter coats and sneakers to students who need them. This year, before Thanksgiving, the Foundation provided 63 students in need with Market Basket gifts cards to purchase a family meal for the holiday.
At the end of each school year, the Foundation provides scholarships to graduating seniors. In May of 2021, it dispersed 15 scholarships to graduating seniors pursuing both academic and vocational post-secondary pathways. Scholarships are awarded for both academic excellence, and for improvement over the course of a student’s education.
There’s more about the Whittier Tech Educational Foundation at foundation.whittiertech.org.