Bolingbrook Meijer Store Chooses Valley View Education Foundation For $5,000 Donation

Photo caption: Amber, Store Director for Meijer West in Bolingbrook and her team present the check to Mike Lawler, VVEEF President

Employees of the Meijer store on Boughton Road in Bolingbrook have chosen the Valley View Educational Enrichment Foundation for a $5,000 donation. The presentation was made recently to the President of the Foundation, Mike Lawler, with Store Director Amber McMillen and some of her team members.

“We are truly honored to have been able to support the Valley View Foundation. Thank you for all you do to enrich the lives of the children in the community we serve”, Ms. McMillen shared during the presentation.

Meijer employees are asked to nominate local organizations who serve their communities for donations annually. The nominees are then contacted and information about the organization and donation request is forwarded to Meijer Corporate offices for approval and processing of the donation.

During the presentation, Lawler shared more background about the Foundation and expressed gratitude for being chosen as a recipient of the very generous donation. “Your thoughtfulness in choosing this organization has a very profound impact on the students in our community. It is very likely that some of your children have experienced and benefitted from some of the grant programs funded by the Foundation through the years.” He invited them to attend some of the fundraising events delivered by the Foundation and also to consider
volunteering.

The Foundation was established to engage in fundraising activities to support a Grant program to receive applications and provide for funding of educational programs, designed and delivered by educators and others, which go above and beyond the curriculum delivered by Valley View School District 365-U in Bolingbrook and Romeoville, Illinois.

The Internal Revenue Service confirmed it’s designation as a 501c 3 Not for Profit December 1990. In November 1994, a group met to establish the Board of Directors and began its initial operational efforts. The Foundation is a group of volunteers from the community who support the mission of the Foundation which includes Officers, Directors, and Committee members.

The Grant program was announced to District staff and applications were requested for consideration in late 1994. In March of 1995, the first fundraising event was held. Following the event, 11 grants were approved for funding. Since that time, over 1,100 grant applications have been funded for over $1.8 million.