Fun Spot America introduced its Golden Rule Day at its Fayetteville location in August, raising $9,000 for the Fayette County Education Foundation, a nonprofit organization that solely supports the teachers and students of Fayette County Public Schools. 
Fun Spot America offered a special discounted price for families and donated five dollars to the foundation from every Single Day Fun Pass that was sold. The Fayette County Education Foundation provides grants to teachers for creative and innovative project ideas and programs that support and enhance the curriculum taught in the schools, and that are not funded through school budgets.
“It is amazing that Fun Spot America raised this much money for the foundation in just one day. This is more than what we typically raise through our own efforts during the calendar year. The additional funds will give us the opportunity to offer more grants to our teachers. Thank you to Fun Spot America and to all who purchased tickets during the fundraiser,” says Melinda Berry Dreisbach, treasurer of the Fayette County Education Foundation and public information officer for Fayette County Public Schools.
The Fayette County Education Foundation just wrapped up its annual Excellence and Creativity Grant call for applications where this year it has committed to giving $10,000 in grants ($1,000 to 10 teachers). Teachers were invited to apply for a grant in any subject area. Grant applications will be reviewed and judged in October, and grant awards will be presented late October to early November.
For the last three years, the foundation has offered a $1,000 spring grant opportunity where entire schools, grade levels or school departments are invited to request a grant to fund a specific need. In the past, due to budget constraints, the spring grant has been limited to three recipients for a combined award of $3,000, but that could change this year, according to Berry Dreisbach.
“Thanks to the donation from Fun Spot America, the foundation will have more funds after the fall grants are awarded, enabling us to either offer more $1,000 grant opportunities in the spring, or possibly doubling next year’s fall grant commitment to $20,000. Either way, more teachers, students and schools are going to benefit from the Fun Spot America donation,” she says.
Fun Spot America is based in Florida, with parks in Orlando and Kissimee. The Fayetteville park is the company’s third location, and is home to the Samson go kart track that is over 40 feet tall and 1,800 feet long, as well as a brand-new Ferris wheel and indoor bumper cars.
The Fayette County Education Foundation has been awarding grants to teachers of Fayette County Public Schools since 2002, and to-date has awarded over $180,000 to fund innovative projects and programs. The foundation meets the second Tuesday of the month at the Fayette County Board of Education and is governed by an all-volunteer board. Since the foundation has no overhead or personnel costs, 100 percent of every dollar donated goes to support Fayette County Public Schools. For more information about the foundation or to make a donation, contact Melinda Berry-Dreisbach via email at berrydreisbach.melinda@mail. fcboe.org or call 770-460-3535.
