Roswell North Elementary Foundation Hosts Successful Fundraiser

ROSWELL, GA — The Roswell North Elementary Foundation had a successful year of fundraising despite the pandemic, helping current and former students.

The Roswell North Elementary School Foundation was excited to once again hold its annual soiree in May. This event is the largest yearly fundraiser for the Foundation. Canceled in 2020 due to the pandemic, the event made a comeback in 2021, exceeding everyone’s expectations.

The Foundation was created 12 years ago and currently focuses its efforts on fully funding the Roswell North Elementary Licata Science Lab, Chef’s Lab and garden. They are also in the process of building an outdoor classroom for the students, with the groundbreaking on this newest project to take place in the upcoming school year.

Held at Ivy Hall at Roswell Mill, this year’s soiree had a Kentucky Derby theme. It was helmed
by events chair Heather Herrig, a certified meeting planner, who spent her year learning the ins
and outs of planning a pandemic-safe event. Multiple safeguards were in place, including a
reduced capacity from normal event years.

“I am so proud to be part of this Foundation Board," Herrig said in a news release. "We committed as a team to move forward with this soiree despite facing many obstacles due to COVID-19 and its related impact on our RNE families. We knew we could not afford to lose another year of this important fundraising, and we also knew we could come together to plan a safe and successful event, which is exactly what we did. In fact, even with half of the typical attendance, it was a record- breaking fundraiser."

Faced with many unknowns and obstacles at the beginning of the school year, the determination of the Foundation Board to continue with fundraising paid off.

“Fundraising and grants are the energy that runs the science lab. We needed just as much support financially for the 2020-2021 school year as we ever have before,” Liz Rains, who implements and teaches all Licata Science Lab initiatives for the school, said in the release. “We knew going into this school year, learning in the science lab would look and feel different. But, it still needed to be exciting and fun. Due to the COVID-19 restrictions, students could not share supplies, tools, or lab items. Virtual and face to face learning was going to take place simultaneously."

Rains, who was recently named a recipient of one of the Roswell Women’s Club 2021 Educator Grants, also spoke about how the impact was seen and felt by students in that a lot of their normal lab, kitchen and garden activities were diminished this year due to necessary social distancing and needing to purchase even more supplies than in a normal school year. But she and the students used their creativity and made it work.

Roswell North Principal, Lydia Conway said, “without a doubt, this was one of the most unusual school years in recent history. Despite every obstacle, we recognized that we needed to continue the fundraising efforts of the Roswell North Foundation because the science lab, kitchen lab, and garden are part of what make Roswell North special.”

Janie Hagood, board president, echoed Conway's sentiments by saying, “it was essential that we hosted this critical fundraising event for our school, especially since we had to cancel last year due to the pandemic. These programs, in addition to the outdoor classroom we hope to break ground on this coming year, are so precious to our students and are fully-funded by the Foundation.”

Rains summed it up by saying, “it all takes money. And our awesome school community and the RNE Foundation provided the funds needed.”

The Foundation will hold its second annual “Golf Fore RNEF Classic,” on Monday, Aug. 30 at Brookfield Country Club. Registration begins at 9 a.m. and the golf start time is 10:15 a.m. This event is set to kick off fundraising efforts for the 2021-2022 school year.

To register as a golf participant or as an event sponsor, visit online.