Members of the PSJA Education Foundation raised more than $250,000 this month during its ninth annual fundraiser gala at Bert Ogden Arena in Edinburg.
The nonprofit has already awarded more than $2.2 million to PSJA school district students and teachers since its inception in 2013.
“Thank you to all individuals and businesses who made contributions and donations,” PSJA Education Foundation President & PSJA School Board Vice-President Jesus “Jesse” Vela Jr. said in a news release Monday. “We thank you for your generosity, your belief in the Foundation, and in giving back to our students. You help us make a difference.”
The gala is the foundation’s primary fundraiser, with attendees donating during virtual and live silent auctions. At the arena, attendees were treated to a performance by the Australian Bee Gees Show from Las Vegas. Additionally, attendees got to give during Virtual and Live Silent Auctions.
All the proceeds from the event will benefit the district’s students and teachers, organizers said.
“On behalf of our school district, we are so grateful to everyone in the PSJA Education Foundation for the tremendous effort made every year to raise money for scholarships and grants for our PSJA Family,” PSJA Superintendent Dr. Jorge L. Arredondo said in the release. “Thanks to this work, hundreds of our students receive much-needed scholarships to fund their post-secondary education and our teachers are able to get funding for innovative classroom projects.”
The foundation recently awarded students $341,000 in scholarships and has continued to support district-wide literacy initiatives, including a $17,000 grant awarded to the PSJA Library Services during the 2020-21 school year.
The 2022 PSJA Education Foundation Scholarship Application opened Nov. 1, and the deadline to apply is Jan. 30, 2022. All PSJA ISD seniors are eligible to apply. For more information, visit www.psjaisd.us/foundation.
