Cullman, Ala. – At St. Bernard Prep, Thanksgiving is more than a day—It’s a way of life. Since 1891, St. Bernard has educated and shaped the lives of young men and women to become leaders, pioneers and trailblazers — all making the world a better place.
Thirty Days of Thanks and Giving is a seasonal online campaign that celebrates St. Bernard and its most important asset—people. Each day in November leading up to Giving Tuesday, the school celebrates St. Bernard and shares with the many reasons why we are thankful for St. Bernard.
This year, 30 Days of Thanks and Giving’s emphasis is on the classroom, raising money for the new Classroom Grant Program. Development Director Tyler Hooper reached out to all SBP teachers to develop a “wish list” of up to three of the most needed items for their classrooms.
“We aim to raise $25,000. That’s $1,000 per teacher/area which will be administered in the form of grants. Our nurses’ office and library will also receive project grants,” Hooper said. “This is a perfect opportunity to make a charitable gift before the 2021 calendar year ends to add to your charitable giving totals for your income tax returns filed next year.”
All items requested through this project have undergone an approval process. Hooper said, “Every item that a teacher, nurse, or librarian will purchase with our donors’ gifts as part of this program has been reviewed and determined to be an actual need by our school leadership. We were very intentional in making sure every dollar a donor gives will be used on classroom needs by our teachers.”
Items approved through this grant program include math kits and graphing calculators, copies of novels and textbooks for several classes, Chromebook charging carts, science lab balances and safety aprons, geography map making software, new sheet sets for the nurses’ office, band chairs and instruments, photography equipment for journalism, costumes for the spring drama production and Wall Street Journal subscriptions to supplement economics classes.
Teachers often must purchase needed classroom items from their own personal funds. Hooper said this project aims to relieve the strain this places on them and provide them needed classroom items they may not be able to provide their students otherwise.
Giving is easy. Donors can visit www.donate.onecause.com/sbp30days, make a gift of any size, read FAQs and learn more about the project. “Giving takes less than two minutes and every dollar adds up. We especially would like to thank all the donors that have participated in the campaign so far,” Hooper said. The campaign is currently at 27% of its goal and runs through November 30, “Giving Tuesday.”
Gifts by cash and check are also accepted and can be mailed to the school with an included note directing your gift to 30 Days of Thanks and Giving (1600 St. Bernard Drive, SE, Cullman, AL 35055). SBP is recognized as a 501(c)(3) non-profit charitable organization by the IRS and all gifts made to the school are tax-deductible to the extent allowed by law.
At St. Bernard we are reaching out to our community of friends and alumni asking them to join us in granting each teacher’s wish.
