Las Vegas Business Press :: News : The Gift of Tech

The Gift of Tech

School's business advisory council has 50-plus members

BY SARA CURETON

At Faith Lutheran Junior Senior High School, students are on a high-tech path to success. The school recently gained 16 "mobile classrooms," media carts that accommodate 27 Internet-ready computers -- a total of 432 tablet notebooks -- that are charged and stored for student use.

"It allows students to use a computer without going to the lab," said Brenda Bogue, the school's development director.

The advanced school supplies were donated to Faith Lutheran by its own business advisory council, a group of local business leaders that give back to the school through membership dues and fundraising. Since the council was established in 2001, Faith Lutheran has raised more than $250,000 for its cause, even adding state-of-the-art science and computer labs.

MIKE STOTTS | BUSINESS PRESS
Students in Karen Pullman's 10th grade psychology class at Faith Lutheran Junior Senior High School use laptops from the mobile media cart. The school has 16 of the carts.

"It's Faith Lutheran's goal to be the technological leader in education in the valley," Bogue said. "We feel like we have an obligation to prepare our students for what will come."

"Since we started, we've broadened the number of members to over 50 businesses and we've raised a couple hundred thousand dollars for the school," said Bruce Wiggins, a father of two Faith Lutheran High School graduates and one of the council's founding members.

"It's a question of what can we do to improve the technology available at the school," Wiggins said. "The fundraising, networking and integrating Faith Lutheran into the business community have helped us do that."

This year, the business advisory council has been tasked with furnishing each classroom with a digital projector to solve the problem of limited media resources.

"We are kind of a mechanism of looking at where the need is and asking how can we help the students the most," Wiggins said.

The school recently held a membership drive for the business advisory council, seeking more community business leaders who believe in the benefits of investing in technology. Memberships are $1,000 per year .

scureton@lvbusinesspress.com

387-5273

DONATIONS

More than two dozen Clark County foster children enjoyed a Las Vegas 51s game April 20, thanks to Child Focus. Child Focus also received a $5,000 donation from Nevada Power Co. during the game.

Members of McCarthy Building Cos.' Heart Hat committee, Star Nursery and Pavestone recently constructed four new flower and vegetable garden planters for the prekindergarten and kindergarten classes at Paradise Professional Development Elementary School.

Beth Wheeler and Bob Harrington, franchise owners of Money Mailer of Las Vegas, contributed a portion of their advertising sales in an amount more than $6,350 to the St. Rose Dominican Hospital in Henderson for Children's Miracle Network. To date, Money Mailer has raised more than $750,000 for 170 children's hospitals across North America.

The Public Education Foundation's literacy initiative, Clark County READS announced a partnership with Toyota Financial Services and Toyota Financial Savings Bank, which have donated $9,000 to enhance the library of Sewell Elementary School.

Silver State Schools Credit Union raised $1,000 and Washington Mutual raised $750 during the first annual "Bucks for Books" campaign benefitting The Public Education Foundation's literacy initiative, Clark County READS.

Nevada Federal Credit Union donated $20,000 to the Nevada Jump$tart Coalition, which supports youth financial literacy programs.

Community One Federal Credit Union contributed $10 to every new savings account opened by students at Gibson Middle School on April 22 and April 24.

PLISE donated $10,000 to enhance the library of Tomiyasu Elementary School. The donation was made to The Public Education Foundation's literacy initiative, Clark County READS, in memory of Manny J. Cortez.

Desert Riders Club raised $1,829 for The Pediatric Brain Tumor Foundation during a recent Poker Run hosted by Carter Powersports.

UPCOMING EVENTS

The Greater Las Vegas Association of Realtors will host a luau from 7-11 p.m. May 30 at LaHaina Grill, 4570 S. Hualapai Way. The evening will feature dinner, music and entertainment by Hot Lava Productions. In the spirit of the event, guests are asked to dress in Hawaiian attire. The event is open to the public and tickets are $55 each. All proceeds will benefit local children's charities.

E-mail Nadine Morris at Nadine@glvar.org or call her at 784-5032 to RSVP.

Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation (JDRF) is hosting the 2008 Masquerade Hope Gala at 6 p.m. on May 17 at The Venetian, 3355 Las Vegas Blvd. South. Call Alissa Kelly at PR Plus at 696-1999 to RSVP.

The Public Education Foundation's eighth-annual Tee Up for Kids charity golf tournament will be held April 29 at Rhodes Ranch Golf Club, 20 Rhodes Ranch Parkway. Registration begins at 6:30 a.m.; a shotgun scramble follows at 7:30 a.m.

Tournament activities include hole-in-one and closest-to-the-pin contests, tee prizes, first, second and third place trophies, and an awards luncheon.

Playing spots are available for $300; foursomes are $1,200. Corporate sponsorships are also available. All donations are tax deductible.

Call 799-1042 or visit www.thepef.org for registration forms or more information about Tee Up For Kids or other foundation programs.

Submissions should be sent to Business Press researcher Sara Cureton at scureton@lvbusinesspress.com. They should include the name of the donor company, the charity that benefits, and the size of the contribution. A date for the contribution or event should also be included. Any questions should be forwarded to Editor Matt Ward, 387-5298, or mward@lvbusinesspress.com.

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