summer_18

SUPPORTING

18 CEA ADVISOR SUMMER 2018

TEACHERS WILL HIT THE PAVEMENT FOR CHILDREN, EDUCATORS IN NEED Preparations underway for Hartford Marathon; volunteers, runners still needed

Summer vacation may be in full swing, but all across the state, educators’ hearts and minds never left the classroom. Nowhere is that clearer than among the dozens of teachers training for this year’s Eversource Hartford Marathon and running to raise money for students and colleagues in need.

“I can think of no better way to give back than to run the marathon with CEF as my charity,” says Windsor Locks chemistry teacher Tim Percoski. CEA’s charitable arm, the Connecticut Education Foundation (CEF) helps children and teachers with extraordinary personal hardships and provides scholarships for students planning teaching careers. This is CEF’s fifth year as an official charity of the marathon. “We have raised thousands of dollars, and you don’t have to run in order to help the cause,” says CEA Vice President Tom Nicholas, who also serves as president of CEF. “So many teachers are lending a hand by working concessions, serving as race monitors throughout the 26-mile course, donating funds, and handing out water and snacks to the runners.” Last year, CEF’s Boland Fund helped the

For CEA members and staff, the marathon is a family event. Refueling after the race are Liz Reed-Swale, the Janick family, and CEA’s director of affiliate services, Marilyn Mathes, with her daughter Emma.

Who benefits from CEF? Established in 1991, the nonprofit Connecticut Education Foundation consists of four funds: • The Edward J. Boland Fund provides relief for active CEA members facing extraordinary or catastrophic personal circumstances, such as a serious family illness, unforeseen disaster, or other financial crisis. • The Children’s Fund supplies basic necessities such as clothing, food, medicine, eyeglasses, and hearing aids for children in need. • The Ethnic Minority Scholarship Fund supports qualified ethnic minority high school seniors intending to enter the teaching profession in Connecticut. (See p. 11 for this year’s recipients.) • The DiGiovanni Future Teachers Scholarship Fund supports children of CEA members who plan to follow their parents into the teaching profession. (See p. 11 for this year’s recipient.)

Katy Gale and Stephanie Wanzer at the start of last year’s half-marathon. family of a Bridgeport teacher who lost everything in a home fire, and the Children’s Fund provided similar assistance to a South Windsor family who lost most of their possessions in a fire. CEF’s funds provide everything from blankets to books for children in need as well as scholarships for students pursuing teaching careers. Runner Liz Reed-Swale, a music teacher at CREC Aerospace Elementary School in Rocky Hill, says many children in her school benefit from the kind of assistance that CEF offers. Describing her school’s population as a mix of suburban and urban students, she says, “CEF directly helps our kids who don’t have enough to eat or who need a winter coat or a backpack.” Reed-Swale, who beat her own personal best time in last year’s race, says, “I’m excited to be a healthy role model for my own children and my students, and I’m proud to raise money for an organization that provides students with the resources they need to succeed.”

Join Team CEF as a runner, donor, or volunteer! Contact marypats@cea.org for more information. Run the marathon, half- marathon, relay, or 5K and save $5 on the registration fee when you sign up for Team CEF. Learn more at cea.org/cef .

CEA’s Jeff Leake crosses the 5K finish line at last year’s race.

2017 Team CEF runners included (L-R) Mark, Melissa, and Dallas Janick; Liz Reed-Swale; Katy Gale; Neil Shilansky; Stephanie Wanzer; Jeff Leake; and Marty Deren.

Bridgeport teacher Mia Dimbo hands out snacks to race finishers.