|
|
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
|
 |
|
|
Newsroom
Sillicon Valley Education Foundation Raises $550,000 At Annual FundraiserThe Silicon Valley Education Foundation raised some $550,000 at its 4th annual Pioneers & Purpose dinner Thursday night, which will go toward its work supporting teachers, enrichment curriculum and new academic achievement programs in the areas of math and science. The event held at the Fairmont San Jose drew 500 people, including San Jose Mayor Chuck Reed, State Assemblyman Ira Ruskin, State Senator Joe Simitian and some of Silicon Valley’s most prominent business and education leaders. Special honoree was Bruce Chizen, former CEO of Adobe Systems, who received the Pioneer Business Leader Award. He was lauded for his deep involvement in education issues and overall commitment to improving education. The auction raised more than $230,000 with Chizen challenging the audience to match his gift of $50,000. The money will go toward SVEF’s Teacher Innovation Grants program that gives $500 to teachers to implement innovative lesson plans and unique classroom projects. Other funds raised will support the Foundation’s Silicon Valley STEM Initiative designed to raise student performance in the areas of science, technology, engineering and math. More than $300,000 was raised in sponsorships and tickets. Other prominent business leaders who attended included Jen-Hsun Huang, cofounder and CEO of Nvidia, who received the Pioneer Business Leader award in 2007, Ray Bingham, managing director for General Atlantic, Faysal Sohail, managing director of CMEA Ventures, Rick Wallace, CEO of KLA-Tencor , Dr. Art deGeus, Chairman of the Board and CEO of Synopsys, Michael Yutrzenka, Executive Director of Cisco Systems Foundation, and Lisa Sobrato Sonsini, board president of the Sobrato Foundation. . “We are very pleased with the success of this night,’’ said Muhammed Chaudhry, president and CEO of SVEF. “We received a lot of help from the Silicon Valley community, especially the business community, and that demonstrates how important education is to Silicon Valley. Now we’ll put these dollars to good use by getting needed resources in the hands of schools and teachers.” Faysal Sohail, chairman of the foundation’s board of directors, said “it was heartwarming to see so many companies in the area come out to show how much they care about education. It’s very exciting for us.” Chizen said he was humbled by receiving the Pioneer Business Leader Award. He stressed the importance of developing better school programs to strengthen teaching in math and the sciences. “Our work is not over. We still have to figure out how to do more to make sure we have a next generation of leaders.” Special recognition was given to teacher Scott Wolf of San Jose’s Arbuckle Elementary School as Educator of Distinction. Wolf created a hands-on science exhibit about extinct animals with the $500 Teacher Innovation Grant he received from the Silicon Valley Education Foundation. Recognition also was given to single mom Guadalupe Alvarez and her three children as the foundation’s Family of Distinction for overcoming numerous hardships. A number of corporate sponsors attended the dinner, including representatives from Adobe, Bank of America, Juniper Networks, Nvidia, PG&E, Cisco Systems, Chevron, Symantec, National Semiconductor and Synopsis. KBAY–FM radio hosts Sam Van Zandt and Lissa Kreisler emceed the event and conducted the live auction. Some of the items auctioned off included a weeklong stay at a Cabo San Lucas resort, winter mini-vacations at donated ski homes, a ride in a San Jose police helicopter and dinner with Bruce Chizen, which brought in the auction’s single highest bid of $30,000. The dinner was the first put on under the banner of the Silicon Valley Education Foundation, which formed in February by the merger of the San Jose Education Foundation and the Santa Clara County Education Foundation. The Silicon Valley Education Foundation is a non-profit organization that serves students, families and teachers across the valley. It strives to create strategic partnerships in education by connecting school districts to businesses and community organizations. For more information about the foundation, visit www.SVEFoundation.org.
|
