The Huntington Foundation for Excellence in Education has named its 2018/19 Youth Board members and announced the name of the incoming senior who will be interning with the organization.
Huntington Foundation President Alice Marie Rorke said the new school year’s Youth Board will consist of Noah Morris, Megan Malone, Andrew Knowles, Emely Lopez, David Mosden, Caitlyn Palermo and Francesca Greco.
“HFEE is extremely beneficial to the Huntington community, both within the school district and outside of it,” Mr. Morris said. “I was honored to be recommended to serve on the Youth Board for the 2018/19 school year because of the grants that the Foundation provides to the school district. I’m looking forward to learning more about grant writing and the administrative processes that go into HFEE’s operations.”
This marks the third edition of the HFEE Youth Board. The new set of members will spend several hours each month focusing on Huntington Foundation business. They are expected to play an important role in the group’s 2019 gala.
Senior Candido Martinez will be involved in a credit bearing full-year internship with the organization and work closely with Mrs. Rorke. He will devote three or four hours each week to the Huntington Foundation, working on various projects and learning the ins-and-outs of the longtime non-profit organization.
“Candido will work closest with me, but will also have an opportunity to work in all areas of the Foundation with all executive members including CFO, VP of Development, VP of Grants, VP of Public Relations and event planning. It is an awesome opportunity and incredible learning experience and Candido is a great kid!”
HFEE has not yet released information about when or where the 2019 Reach for the Stars gala will be held. Nor have the names of next year’s district and community Spirit Award honorees been announced.
The organization plans to mail its annual newsletter to all district residents in late August. The publication will feature the Huntington Foundation’s unflagging efforts to enhance the classroom experience for students on every grade level.
The Huntington Foundation has spent more than two decades raising funds and giving it all away through two grant programs that encourage innovative classroom practices and programs. Enthusiastic parent volunteers who have committed countless hours of their time have made the Huntington Foundation for Excellence in Education the envy of many other districts.
Huntington parent Nancy Lundell came up with the original idea for an educational foundation in 1993. She pulled together a group of people, including fellow district parents Beverly Wayne and Elliot Levine, an attorney who performed the legal work necessary to formally create the organization’s corporate structure.
That small group of parents, along with several others, began meeting in the superintendent’s conference room in what was then the administrative wing at Woodhull School. It was from those meetings that the Huntington Foundation for Excellence in Education emerged, becoming a non-profit organization in 1994, with formal bylaws, a logo and a board of directors.
In addition to Mrs. Lundell, Mrs. Wayne and Mr. Levine, the original directors included Diane Kirchner, Tom Webster, Susan Agolia, Paula Schneider and Susan Jouard. The first fundraiser was held on a Sunday afternoon at the old Coco’s Water Café on New York Avenue in Halesite, currently the site of Prime.
The original volunteers devoted enormous amounts of time to the organization, helping to insure its long-term success. Since 1994, the Huntington Foundation has donated well over $1 million to the district in grant monies and equipment.
The Foundation is a not-for-profit organization. Its annual report may be obtained upon request from the Foundation (P.O. Box 552, Huntington, NY 11743) or from the Office of the Attorney General, Charities Bureau (120 Broadway, New York, NY 10271).
