Connecting Our Community to the Classroom
100% of staff wishes were granted at the 2023 Gala! Wow!
Cameras, dry erase boards and markers, bean chairs, Legos, magazines, tablets and headphones.
The above are just a few examples of Greenfield Central School Foundation’s “Wish Upon a Star” requests received by G-C staff. Through this specific program, the Greenfield Central School Foundation connects interested community members to our classrooms with the opportunity to grant specific wishes.
Launched in 2012, the program collects lists of unfunded needs from staff throughout the district and posts them online for review. Members of the community can review the requests, find an item that matches their interests and provide the necessary dollars to assist educators in their learning initiatives.
Since its inception, “Wish Upon a Star” has received and funded more than $250,000 in staff wishes – all granted by grateful members of our community.
Wish Upon a Star Stories
Getting to hold and pet insects, feeling their little feet sticking to your hand. Eeeewwww!
Squeals of fear and excitement didn’t scare the bugs away in Greenfield-Central’s fourth-grade classrooms. With a “Wish Upon a Star” donor, GCSF sponsored “Bug in a Bag,” presenting insects and the important role they have in the environment by Purdue entomology professor Tom Turpin.
All G-C fourth-graders took part and even had the opportunity to hold one of several insects brought by Turpin—from cockroaches to caterpillars and a tarantula named Rosie. The program supported the students’ study of insects, giving them hands-on experience with a variety of bugs.
Fourth-grade teacher Lisa Leliaert was not at all surprised by the students’ interest. “Tom came last year, too, and the kids just love it.”
Parents of the fourth-graders may not be quite as enthusiastic about the program, as several students indicated their desire to have a pet insect after holding Rosie. “It was awesome because it felt weird,” one indicated. “I want a spider as a pet now, so I can hold it all the time.”
Help support educators and their initiatives!
$259,000
Total in Grants Funded since
Program Launch in 2012
100%
Staff Wishes Granted
at 2023 Gala
100+
Staff Members
Supported