Greetings!
As we enter into the Advent season of preparation for Christmas, I begin to think about all the other things I need to prepare for- travel plans, wish lists, parties and the long list of ‘to-dos’ during the holiday season. However, one of the most rewarding items on my list is to decide which charity will receive my end-of-year donation.
Like you, I want to make an educated decision about the charitable causes that will receive my money. Therefore, please allow me to explain the tremendous impact that the MACS Education Fund is making in our schools and why it is worthy of your end-of-year giving. Here are the top 5 Frequently Asked Questions and their answers.
Would a donation to the MACS Education Fund impact my child directly?
Yes. Every student in the MACS system is touched directly by the money raised by the Foundation. Principal grants are allocated to each school based upon enrollment. Please see the separate article about principal grants for specific details.
I support my PTO, so why should I also donate to the MACS Education Fund?
This year, the MACS Education Fund donated $325,000 to the MACS system. Of that money $232,925 was given to the 9 principals to use for academic enhancement, technology, cultural enrichment, professional development, and Catholic identity.
Greg Tucker, a recent recipient of a Grant for Educational Excellence, is the engineering teacher at Charlotte Catholic High School. Mr. Tucker shares with us a glimpse of how this grant is fueling creativity and ingenuity within his highly coveted honors engineering class.
How have you utilized the Grant money in your classroom?
The grant was used to purchase and license a small credit card size single board computer for use in the CCHS robotics lab. The Raspberry Pi is a small ARM based computer that costs $35 and can be powered by any iPhone power supply. It has the ability to interface with any PC via web access, has a General Purpose I/O port to sense/control many devices, and a camera interface that allows remote monitoring. The Raspberry Pi is controlled by a 4GB memory card, which includes the operating system, various programming languages, and numerous applications that the students will use to control robots as well as other devices. The grant will also be used to purchase robots and controllers.
Over the next year, I envision the students using the Raspberry Pi as a master controller for the LEGO Mindstorm EV3 robot and the more advanced TETRIS robot. The Raspberry Pi teaches and inspires students to understand the basics of networking, computer programming, remote access, and programmable I/O.
How has the grant enhanced or impacted your ability to teach Engineering at CCHS?
Making a Difference Forever
Welcome to Legacy Notes where information and ideas about planned giving will be shared. If you’re not familiar with the term “planned giving”, it is often referred to as legacy giving with a focus on gifts made from one’s estate rather than from annual income. A typical example of this is a bequest gift where your Catholic school is included in your will to receive a percentage of your estate.
As year’s end quickly approaches, it seems appropriate to focus on planned gifts that will have an impact now. Are you looking for a creative non-traditional gift that celebrates the true meaning of Christmas? Consider a gift to the MACS Education Fund in memory or in honor of a loved one. There is no minimum dollar requirement and you are contributing to an endowment which will exist in perpetuity for the good of our Mecklenburg Area Catholic Schools.