Harrisonburg Education Foundation

The innovative educator grant program provides opportunities for educators to design targeted, cutting-edge programs to meet the needs of their students, which would not otherwise be funded through the traditional school budget process. Those programs are evaluated and awarded by members of the hef board as well as community volunteers to determine potential effectiveness. The grants acknowledge the professionalism of city educators and tie community support from hef straight to the classroom.

The scholarship program awards scholarships to graduating Harrisonburg city public high school seniors in the spring of each year. Funds come from a variety of sponsors and each sponsor has unique eligibility requirements. Scholarship applications are reviewed by a committee appointed by the Foundation.

Teacher appreciation and recognition across the school district is a focus year round for hef. We welcome new teachers at the beginning of the school year with a hot breakfast and door prizes. In october, hef helps students make hundreds candygrams for educators. Hef also hosts a thanks-a-lotto game in the spring, where every educator receives a scratch off that has supportive messages from the community as well as prizes to some. Hef also leads the celebration of our educators of the year that are selected at each school by hcps. Throughout the year, hef coordinates a group of liaisons for each school called the hef superfriends to share feedback and updates on our work. We also provide complimentary tickets to select educators to our end of year event.

From 2021-2023 hef supported the growth of a group of volunteers working to provide weekend food for Harrisonburg students in need. The backpack coalition came about as a way for Harrisonburg backpack projects to support each other and share best practices. By partnering with Harrisonburg Education Foundation, coalition members worked collaboratively with the school district as well as a wide variety of partners. The group met quarterly, created a network of committed volunteer leaders and worked jointly to fundraise to support all programs. Each project is supported by a fiscal agent, managed by a volunteer and supported by school staff.