EDWARDSVILLE, IL Scott Credit Union is pledging $25,000 and is partnering with Bella Milano to challenge others to donate money to help the Edwardsville School District in its purchase of 370 PolyVision Boards for classrooms throughout the District.
Scott Credit Union and Bella Milano will host a "Projecting Success" evening to benefit District 7 from 6:30 to 11:30 p.m. on Friday, September 27 in the Leclaire Room at the N.O. Nelson Campus in Edwardsville. The evening will feature a dinner, auction and live music by The Robert Perry Band with the Original Mojos.
Tickets are $50 per person, and reservations can be made in advance by contacting Ashleigh Deatherage at SCU by calling 381-7214 or emailing her at
adeatherage@scu.org.
District 7 launched the Technology in the 21
st Century Classroom Initiative last year with the goal of placing PolyVision interactive whiteboards in 370 classrooms throughout the school district.
Superintendent Ed Hightower said that the 21
st Century Classroom Initiative was developed to equip classrooms with the tools teachers and students need to be successful in this increasingly digital world.
"Teachers have access to up-to-date information, photos, videos, and other resources that can be used to support all students in all subject areas. This initiative enables the District to maximize technology resources during these extremely difficult economic times," Hightower said.
"The PolyVision Boards cost about $3,000 each, and this is a great way for Scott Credit Union to help the school district provide this technology in the classrooms for the students benefit," said SCU President & CEO Frank Padak. "It is exciting for us to be a part of this project, especially at a time when the state is behind on their funding for schools, and they need our help."
Scott Credit Union is partnering with
Bella Milano owners Sam Guarino and Craig Kalogerou to plan the evening event to raise money for the PolyVision Boards. Bella Milano will provide the dinner and beverages for the evening.
"Sam and Craig have been great to work with on this project. They have done similar fund-raisers in the past that have been very successful," Padak added. "We hope that people in the community will step up and help raise the money needed for the District to purchase the PolyVision Boards."
PolyVision Boards are interactive white boards that use touch screen technology to increase the effectiveness of teachers in-class instruction. Lessons on the PolyVision Boards can be saved for later review, and information from other sources can be downloaded and displayed.
"Bella Milano has enjoyed the support of the community for many years and it is our pleasure to repay that patronage by engaging in many community and charitable projects," Guarino said. "This particular endeavor allows us to partner with another business that constantly seeks to improve our city and we are excited to work with the team at Scott Credit Union. We know this event will be a great time with a fantastic local band entertaining us, some great food and drink, an excellent venue and all for a great cause."
Scott Credit Union has made giving back to its communities a major priority. The local credit union contributed about $275,000, and its employees volunteered over 2,300 hours to a variety of area civic efforts throughout the region in 2012.
"We consider Scott Credit Union an innovative organization, and we are really happy to be a part of a project to increase the level of technology used in the classrooms here in the Edwardsville School District," Padak said. "Credit unions are really about helping people, and this is another way for us to take that even a step further. It is an honor for us to help students in our local schools."
The Projecting Success event will feature some PolyVision Boards to show the capabilities throughout the evening. A local committee is currently putting together the details for the event.
"We are putting the details together to make this an enjoyable evening," said SCU Community Relations Supervisor Ashleigh Deatherage. "With Bella Milano involved, you can plan on a great dinner, and were confident that the auction will feature some great items."
"I cant think of a better reason to enjoy a wonderful evening out than in support of our local students and their education," Guarino added. "I hope that all of our friends and neighbors will join us for this fun evening."
The credit union has increased its community involvement in the past few years while also increasing its efforts to educate consumers of the value of doing their financial business with a not-for-profit credit union.
"We realize that without our members and the communities in which we serve, we would not exist as a financial alternative," Deatherage noted. "Supporting our communities is very important to us. We want people in the area to know more about the value of doing business with a credit union. That is why we have focused our time on educating area residents about Scott Credit Union. One of the big ways weve done that is through our community involvement."
Bella Milano has locations in Springfield, OFallon and Edwardsville and operates the food service for LCCC at the N.O. Nelson Center.
Scott Credit Union is open to anyone who lives or works in an 17 county area, including Madison, St. Clair, Monroe, Randolph, Perry, Franklin, Jefferson, Washington, Clinton, Marion, Bond, Macoupin, Montgomery, Fayette, Effingham, Williamson, and Jackson counties. Anyone who lives or works in St. Louis County, Mo., also can open accounts with SCU. Additionally, any active or retired military also can have accounts with Scott Credit Union.
Scott Credit Union currently has 15 area locations: Scott Air Force Base, East Belleville, Fairview Heights, Collinsville, OFallon, Edwardsville, Waterloo, Highland, Caseyville, West Belleville, Millstadt, Mascoutah, Troy, Wood River and its Home Office in Edwardsville.
For details on opening accounts at Scott Credit Union, visit
www.scu.org, call 1-800-888-4728, or stop by any of the credit unions branches.
