01/01/2025
As 2024 comes to a close, we want to thank everyone who has supported our foundation and it's mission to provide scholarships to the students of Anna High School.
When we were thinking of ways to honor Laisa, Preston, Emily, Josh, Wade, Patrick, and Drew, scholarships were the 1st thing to come to mind. Over the course of 4 years, it evolved until we felt it honored all 7 classmates in the best way possible: scholarships for dual-credit students that were actively contributing to Anna ISD and the community.
We have had the opportunity to visit with Ted Mackey, the head of the CTE department at Anna ISD many times to learn the needs of the students in the program. He is a blessing to the district in so many ways! We were blown away at how far the facilities and resources available to the students at Anna ISD has come.
We strove to maintain flexibility as our goals, and the needs of the students, evolved. Initially, a gift of one $1,000 university scholarship turned into a gift of $1,000 directly to the CTE department for students to apply to tuition, licensing exam fees after course completion, or class specific supplies like welding gloves or helmets, for example. The latter helped the students be able to reach their goals of entering the workforce once they completed the course requirements, a barrier that many of the students faced.
We are proud of our work in assisting our fellow Coyotes by providing an additional $4,000 in financial assistance over the past 4 years, but are more grateful that we had the opportunity and platform to honor Patrick, Laisa, Preston, Emily, Josh, Wade, and Drew, and their significance in all our lives. ❤️
Back in August, we gifted our last $1,000 as an official 501c3 foundation. Moving forward, we will pool a private donation among our class and gift directly to The Anna ISD Education Foundation to then disperse directly to the CTE program.
We will strive to make the donation in March each year, and through our own social media channels, encourage others to gift in their memory as well.
Thank you to our classmates' families who have supported us in so many ways. Our hearts and thoughts and prayers are with you forever. Thank you for allowing us to honor Laisa, Preston, Emily, Josh, Wade, Patrick, and Drew in such an impactful way.
May God bless you all as we move into the new year!
