Temple Education Foundation surprises teachers with grants donated by local businesses
and last updated 2021-01-31 21:23:14-05
TEMPLE, TX â When Jomeka Gray, a kindergarten teacher at Temple ISD, applied for a grant to help bridge the learning gap between in-person and online learners, she didnât know when or if she would get it.
She applied for the grant weeks ago and said she was constantly curious if she won or not. Jomeka got the big news on Friday.
âAt that time I was in the middle of teaching, and all of a sudden I looked around and some people came into my door and I said what are we here for?â she reminisced. âThey showed me this wonderful sign that I was a grant winner.â
Updated: 5:13 PM CST January 29, 2021
TEMPLE, Texas Throughout the school year, five area businesses donated funds to assist in the Temple Education Foundation’s Innovative Teaching grant program. The businesses are HEB’s My Community Investment program, the Temple/Belton Board of Relators, the BBVA Foundation, Leadership Temple through the Chamber of Commerce and GrandeCares, a Grande Communications employee giving program, according to the TEF.
Grande employees can donate their time and a percentage of their pay to the Grande Cares Club, which in turn helps fund non-profit organizations in their service areas. GrandeCares is a private non-profit that helps create an “Internal culture of volunteerism and community service” for Grande employees.