Fundraiser Proceeds Will Support Technology in the Classroom
The nonprofit Desert Sands Educational Foundation (DSEF) was established in 2011 to close the ever-widening gap between what an education costs and what the state funds for Desert Sands Unified School District (DSUSD). This year, the Foundation is focusing on expanding the availability of technology in the classroom by hosting a hiking event on Sunday, November 3, at Lake Cahuilla in La Quinta. Proceeds will fund Chromebook laptops which will better prepare students for the critical thinking required by California’s new Common Core Standards as well as for being effective in the workplace.
The Hike 4 Education will have 3 different routes – Easy (3 miles), Moderate (5 miles) and Strenuous (10 miles). Entry fees, regardless of route, are $30 for Adults 18 and up, $15 for Youth 17 and under and $15 for Seniors 65 and older. Parking inside Lake Cahuilla Recreation Area is included in the registration fee, and all participants will receive a “goodie bag” and a complimentary event T-shirt. There will also be raffle prizes, and raffle tickets will be sold at the event. Participants must sign up and pay online at Hike4Education.com.
DSUSD has 29,000 students in its Kindergarten through 12th grade schools and has already purchased 4,000 Chromebooks. A Chromebook is a personal computer running Chrome OS as its operating system. It’s designed to be used while connected to the Internet and support applications that reside on the Web, rather than traditional applications that reside on the computer itself. The goal of Hike 4 Education is to generate funding for at least 7,000 additional Chromebooks.
Support of the community and corporate sponsors is critical to this event’s success, and there are 3 levels of sponsorship available: Event Sponsor ($250), Program Sponsor ($500) and Title Sponsor ($1,000 minimum donation). For details, visit Hike4Education.com or contact event coordinator Jan Diaz at info@DesertSandsEF.org or 760-609-4633.
