HEF News

HEF is delighted to welcome four new members to our board

Congratulations to the HHS Class of 1964 for exceeding their goal!

The Harrisonburg High School Class of 1964 has created an endowed fund to support educational
programs in Harrisonburg City Public Schools. While planning for their 50th reunion, members of the
class set a goal to raise $64,000 in honor of their graduation year. Remarkably, five years later they
met this goal, and at the end of 2020 the fund had grown to over $70,000!
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HEF Welcomes Destiny to the Effort

This Fall, we're pleased to welcome Destiny Bowen to the team! Destiny is a JMU undergrad majoring in Communication Sciences and Disorders with a minor in Exceptional Education Non-Teaching. HEF welcomes her as a Program Specialist who will also be working with the Networking team and many research projects.

Her main goal is to play a part in fostering children to reach their full potential. She says, “I chose to work towards being a Speech Pathologist because I love kids. I want to work personally with them to help them gain confidence in themselves and learn how to effectively communicate with others. I feel it's so important for kids to learn about the world and themselves in alternative and fun ways. With HEF, I'm happy to be working with people that make new opportunities possible.”

HEF Announces 2019-2020 Grants

HEF was delighted to award over $33,000 in Innovative Educator Grants on November 14.  HEF Board Members loaded up in a van full of balloons to share the good news. From robots to a mud kitchen, new music compositions to bunnies, teachers will now be able to take chance on doing something new and important in their classrooms that wasn't in the regular budget. All 38 funded projects are as unique as the teachers that designed them. We look forward to sharing these projects with you throughout the year! Read a recap in Daily News Record.

HEF Ups its Social Media Game!

HEF welcomes HHS Media Managing Editor, Nyah Phengsitthy, to the team as Social Media Coordinator!

Nyah, a Harrisonburg High School junior, has been a member of the HHS newspaper staff for three years and will serve as Editor-in-Chief for the Class of 2019.  She also works as a server at Virginia Mennonite Retirement Community (VMRC). Nyah hopes to attend a college not far from home after graduating high school and plans on pursuing a career in journalism.

In her spare time, Nyah enjoys  spending time with friends and family, writing, and working with the elders at VMRC. ​Nyah is excited about the opportunity to utilize her media skill set to support the HEF mission this summer.

Grant Highlight: Skypin' It Up!

Candy Foster's Bluestone Elementary students are using Skype to communicate with students at Escuela Integrada in Antigua, Guatemala. Additionally, they are using the application Seesaw to write and exchange letters. The HEF Innovative Educator Grant made this possible by funding the grant entitled "Empathy Can Change the World." HEF salutes Ms. Foster for participating in the grant process and bringing this wonderful program to Ms. Rose Jantzi's classroom! #DualLanguageLearners

Meet HEF's New Grants & Communications Coordinator

January 28, 2018 - As we enter this new year, we are thrilled to welcome Dylan Ashley to the team! Dylan is a senior at James Madison University studying Justice Studies with a focus in Global Justice and a minor in Nonprofit Management. Dylan will be assisting in the development and implementation of the Innovative Educator Grants and Scholarship process. 

With an interest in international development and human rights, Dylan served as an intern for the Executive Director of the Red Cross Virginia Coastal Region, as well as an IT Research Assistant for Operation Smile, an international medical nonprofit association that fixes cleft lips and palates for children in developing countries. We are so glad to have him and look forward to working with him this semester.

HEF Celebrates Home Depot's ESPN GameDay in the 'Burg

October 13, 2017 - As the ESPN GameDay Bus rolled into town for the epic JMU vs. Villanova game, HEF got in on the action at the pre-game celebration held at the Harrisonburg Home Depot. It was a great opportunity to interact with the community, especially the many high school students that were present as part of the Harrisonburg High School Blue Streaks marching band who performed for the crowd.  HEF Executive Director Zanetta Ford-Byrd was onsite passing out information on our scholarship program and other initiatives. We even snapped a photo with Harrisonburg Mayor Deanna Reed. It was a fun-filled evening full of food, community and sports!

HEF in the Community

October 7, 2017 - The Harrisonburg Education Foundation was so excited to participate in the Harrisonburg International Festival on September 30 at Hillandale Park. The event, in its 20th year, strives to celebrate the diversity of Harrisonburg and the surrounding communities through the presentation and showcase of various cultural and linguistic values. HEF had a blast interacting with the families present, learning about the many cultures that make up our great city, and spreading awareness about HEF and our mission.
Special thanks to Walt Williamson (Harrisonburg High School), Diana Ferguson (Waterman Elementary School), and Holly Kincaid (Skyline Middle School) for providing displays of their classroom projects funded by the HEF Innovative Educator Grant.

HEF Welcomes Spencer Munson

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​October 1, 2017 - The Harrisonburg Education Foundation welcomes JMU nonprofit minor Spencer Munson to the team as the Community Outreach Volunteer for the Fall Semester.  Spencer is a Business Management major and plans to apply his skill set within the nonprofit sector upon graduation in December. Spencer believes that "in order to be happy, you have to truly love what you do every day which is why I want to be a part of a nonprofit organization, so that I know my work has true meaning and improves the lives of others."  We're happy to have you Spencer!