The Education Foundation of Palm Beach County recently had its ninth annual Heroes for Education 5K at John Prince Park in Lake Worth to raise funds and support educational opportunities for students in the county.
The event attracted over 1,300 participants of all ages with $10,000 provided to over 20 public schools in The School District of Palm Beach County.
“By every measuring stick, it was a success and the event continues to grow,” said James Gavrilos, president of the Education Foundation of Palm Beach County. “We had support from our community and the families came out and had fun.”
Panther Run Elementary in Wellington was recognized with the Heroes Award with 111 runners, which was the largest overall participating school. The largest team winners in each category also included Clifford O. Taylor/Kirklane in Palm Springs (elementary school), Polo Park in Wellington (middle school) , Forest Hill in West Palm Beach (high school) and Royal Palm in Lantana (multi-grade).
The event provided an opportunity for nine schools to earn prize money as the fastest winners in their respective category, including the following high schools: Suncoast in Riviera Beach (first), Park Vista in Boynton Beach (second) and Royal Palm Beach (third). The winners at the middle school level consisted of Eagles Landing in Wellington (first), Tradewinds in Greenacres (second) and West Boynton (third). The fast teams in elementary school were South Olive in West Palm Beach (first), Wellington (second) and Highland in Lake Worth Beach (third).
The mascot race featured contestants from 12 different schools. The two winners of the race were Super Star Sam (Royal Palm School) and Zorro the Fox (Acreage Pines Elementary). The event also included a fun run, 100-yard dash and 1-mile run for children.
School District of Palm Beach County COO Joseph Sanches served as the honorary chairman. Over 40 volunteers managed parking and the hydration station, and helped with registration check-in and distributing medals at the finish line.
The Education Foundation of Palm Beach County, which is based in Boynton Beach, has 11 staff members and a board of directors. Gavrilos, who had previous experience running Boca Helping Hands, said they have several programs to support the needs of students, teachers, principals and schools in the district. It holds special events and its signature program is Red Apple Supplies, which provides essential school supplies to teachers for their classrooms at Title I schools. It also has a winners scholarship program for students and a GoTeach! classroom grant award for educators.
The Education Foundation of Palm Beach County also has developed a backpack initiative for students. It started distributing 1,000 backpacks four years ago and it has grown to a total of $23,695 in fully stocked backpacks covering 39 schools in the district.
According to Gavrilos, the average teacher spends $587 out of pocket on school supplies. They have 11 grant programs to award a total of $1.4 million in funding support for school supplies.
The Education Foundation of Palm Beach County provided funding to send seven students from the robotics program at Pahokee Middle School to the University of Washington to meet with faculty members for an educational experience. It has provided funding to the cybersecurity program at Santaluces High School in Lantana and the fire science program at Palm Beach Lakes High School in West Palm Beach. It also has funded the first mental health career academy.
The Publix Tools for Schools Distribution will take place from 9 a.m. to 11 a.m. Dec. 2 at Red Apple Supplies, 7071 Garden Road, in Riviera Beach. Publix team team members and community volunteers will help distribute 230,000 school supplies to teachers at Title I schools in the county. The event will include Santa Claus, a barbershop quartet serenade, and hot chocolate and cookies will be served.
“We have an amazing board and a dedicated and phenomenal staff,” Gavrilos said. “We have several volunteers who regularly come out to Red Apple Supplies. We have fantastic volunteers who will help box up and package supplies for teachers.”
The Education Foundation of Palm Beach County is in the process of constructing a 32,000-square-foot facility in Lake Worth Beach for its new headquarters, which will also include operation of the Red Apple Supplies program. The groundbreaking event will be at 4 p.m. Dec. 5 at 1515 Barton Road in Lake Worth Beach.
Visit educationfoundationpbc.org.
