BC News

Community votes needed for grant applications totaling $275K

Release Date: March 3, 2010

Two projects to benefit the BC community are vying for $275,000 in grant funding through a nationwide, online competition sponsored by the Pepsi Corporation -- and your vote can help put them over the top.

All parents, students and community members can vote for both of the grant applicatosns every day from each of their e-mail addresses, as well as Facebook accounts. Vote totals at the end of the month will be used to determine grant winners.

Step Up Program - $25,000

In the $25,000 grant category, BCMS teacher Jen Steil submitted a grant to Pepsi to allow the district to again offer the Step Up Program for incoming 6th grade students who may have anxiety about entering the Middle School. The late summer program aims to ensure a smooth transition to BCMS by allowing students to meet peers and new teachers, become comfortable in the new building, gain self confidence and social skills. Funding has not been available for Step Up in recent years.

Visit http://www.refresheverything.com/StepUptoBCMS to learn more and vote for the Step Up Program.

The top 10 vote getters in the country will win in the $25,000 grant category.

Eat it Up, Clean it up - $250,000

BCMS Assistant Princpal Mark Warford, who also helps lead the districtwide Green Team, submitted an application for a $250,000 grant for the "Eat it up, clean it up," project for both BCMS and BCHS. The bulk of the funding would help the schools eliminate the use of disposable trays and flatware by installing dishwashers in the schools. Funding would also help with the implementation of an organic kitchen garden at BCHS similar to the one in operation at the Middle School.

Visit http://www.refresheverything.com/dishwashergreenteam to learn more and vote for the "Eat it up, clean it up," project.

The top two vote getters across the country will win in the $250,000 grant category.

voting instructions

1) Vote for the “Step Up to BCMS” project and “Green Team/Dishwasher” project by going to http://www.refresheverything.com

2) Click on the yellow “sign in” icon on the bottom left corner

3) First Time Sign-in (You must complete the registration, just one time, to be able to vote)

• Fill in your e-mail address

• Click the “No, I’m new here” button

• Complete the on-line registration

4) All Future Sign-ins (You still have to click the yellow “sign in” icon each day)

• Fill in your e-mail

• Click the “Yes, my password is” button

• Enter your password and sign in

5) Find our Projects!

• “Step Up to BCMS” is located under the $25,000 column

• “Green Team/Dishwashers” is located under the $250,000 column

6) Just click the “Vote for this idea” tab for each project.

A Couple important points!

1) In order to vote you need to log on. Some people have been hesitant to log on due to privacy concerns. People have voted the entire month of February for Glenmont's swing dance application and did not get a single spam e-mail as a result. The sign in is just to ensure that only one vote is cast from each e-mail address each day.

2) You can vote for different projects, one time each day, for the entire month of March. Bottom line, whoever gets the most votes at the end of the month wins, period.

3) You can vote from as many different e-mails as you have each day. This includes home e-mail, work e-mail, Facebook and Twitter. All these different accounts can cast a vote each day!

Help us, help our kids. Vote today!