Board President Brooks Gronlund Introduces GDF to LASD Teachers and Staff
LASD Superintendent, Dr. Mark DiRocco, invited the Green Dragon Foundation to the LASD Opening Convocation for all teachers and staff at the Lewisburg Area High School Auditorium on August 21, 2009. On behalf of the Foundation, Brooks Gronlund, president, welcomed everyone.
Brooks, a member of the Lewisburg High School Graduating Class of 1986, was excited and pleased to introduce everyone to a new organization called the Green Dragon Foundation. He shared a brief history of the Foundation, as well as its vision, goals, and some upcoming events. He hopes that LASD teachers and staff members are inspired to become friends of the Foundation by registering on its website and contributing their ideas and vision of how to make the Lewisburg School District one of the best in the nation.
During his presentation, Brooks concluded that to be different, the Green Dragon Foundation needed to think Big, Bold, and Broad! And it is thinking…
Big – Many of the programs and infrastructure/facility projects identified in the Vision 2020 Plan are large in scope and require hundreds of thousands, if not millions, of dollars to adequately fund. Thus, the Green Dragon Foundation aims to play a leading role in raising significant funds to help address these needs.
Bold – The best strategy for raising significant funds is to present a convincing case, be extremely organized, have a recognizable brand, and develop a long-term relationship with our donor base. To achieve this strategy, the Green Dragon Foundation is modeled after professional development offices typically found in major universities and private schools. The Foundation hired a part-time Executive Director in February and currently has three Board members with professional fundraising / development office experience. The Foundation is organized and run like a business – focused on achieving strategic goals, committed to quality and customer service while emphasizing a professional image and strong brand identity.
Broad – The Green Dragon Foundation intends to positively impact as many students in the Lewisburg Area School District as possible. Thus, its approach will be to fund programs and projects that are broad in scope and that benefit a wide range of student groups and interests.
The Green Dragon Foundation is unique in that it strives to raise significant resources through professional fundraising methods to enable programs and projects which will benefit the entire Lewisburg Area School District.
After describing immediate priorities and goals of the Green Dragon Foundation, Brooks went on to talk about what it may take for a school to achieve a desired level of excellence. The Lewisburg School District’s recent accomplishments have been well publicized (and deservedly so), but as teachers, administrators, and staff he stated that they are all keenly aware of many essential programs or projects whose funding falls well short of the need, or doesn’t exist at all.
In summary, Brooks stated that he hoped that all of LASD teachers and staff could be a part of this success. It is the teachers, administrators, and staff of the Lewisburg School District that are the folks on the front lines. They know, better than anyone, what our children need to succeed. Brooks encouraged everyone to take a few minutes and complete the information form that they received from GDF, or better yet, register on our website and share their ideas and suggestions as often as they would like.
Brooks concluded that we all have personal stories and experiences of what makes Lewisburg a unique community. It’s the unlimited opportunity that he is most excited about. The Green Dragon Foundation will serve as the catalyst for good intentions. It will give parents, teachers, local residents, businesses, and alumni a chance to contribute their time and money to an organization dedicated to improving the quality and vibrancy of their hometown. Everyone wins when our local public school system thrives and achieves greatness.