Amador County – Amador Community Foundation has received a gift of $130,000 from an anonymous donor, with the intention of benefiting school physical education at Ione Junior High and Jackson Junior High, along with the overall music program.

Tina Hurley, Executive Director of the Amador Community Foundation announced the donation last week, saying she was “delighted” to begin her position as ACF executive director “by awarding a gift of $130,000 from a generous anonymous donor to benefit local schools,” especially “at a time when state budget cuts and pink slips are expected.”

Hurley said she met with the Physical Education staff at Ione and Jackson Junior High Schools “to announce that their departments would be enriched by $100,000, thanks to a generous donor to ACF. The gift allocates funds to both junior high P.E. programs.” It also supports music education in the elementary and junior high schools with a $30,000 allocation.

Hurley said she initially met with Justin Brazil, Christine Kearney and Kelly Hunkins, P.E. teachers at the two junior high schools, who “were thrilled that a donor saw the need to support P.E. at this time of reduced resources for our schools.” Ione and Jackson Junior High Schools will each receive about $50,000 to be used to enhance and improve P.E. at the schools, Hurley said. There are 385 students at Ione Junior High, and 320 at Jackson Junior High.

Justin Brazil of the Ione Junior High Phys Ed Department, said: “We have been able to make sure we have enough of each type of equipment to maximize each student’s chances for success. Having enough of the right equipment also allows us to offer a higher quality experience for our students.”

Brazil said the anonymous donation “has allowed us to get equipment to offer new units that we were not able to teach before, giving the students more potential choices to stay active and lead a healthy lifestyle.”

Hurley said the successful disbursement of the donation “truly exemplifies our mission to connect local generosity to local needs.”

Story by Jim Reece This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.