Showing Support For What We’ve Helped To Create
While we happily accept donations for the Graduate Higher Education Fund at any time, there are several times during the year when Eagle Rock staff and students really go all out and “work” for it.
Take, for example, the start of the summer and fall trimesters when we set time aside for Graduate Work Day. During the first week of these trimesters, our students and staff members devote a day to serving the Estes Park community through yard work and other chores.
These folks charge an hourly rate — but instead of pocketing the money, they turn the proceeds over to administrators of the Graduate Fund. This year our community earned $1,500 sprucing up areas of the town on May 15. Charging a flat $12 per hour per worker, 10 staff members and about 40 students divided themselves among 16 projects around town. One group headed off to the historic Stanley Hotel to weed and perform other gardening tasks on the resort hotel’s expansive 55-acre grounds. Other groups headed to private homes to rake leaves, clean windows, stack firewood, shovel snow and complete other chores.
The funding program had its origins in 1997 when Eagle Rock staff realized that they had a lot of grads that wanted to go to college and had the grades to get into college, but lacked the money to do so.
The Graduate Higher Education Fund award was gradually increased over the years and now stands at Continue reading…