FOUNTAIN VALLEY : Bingo Proceeds Go to School Programs

Several programs in the Fountain Valley School District last week were awarded eight grants totaling $21,000 earned from the district’s weekly community bingo games.

The Fountain Valley Educational Foundation, a nonprofit organization of parents, teachers and business and community leaders, was founded in 1982 to raise money for materials and programs that had been reduced or eliminated by budget cuts. The foundation’s Friday night bingo games at Lighthouse Lane, the former district office site and now home to the Boys and Girls Club, has been its primary source of funds.

“The (bingo) proceeds go to a good cause and help programs in dire need, especially those that might have been cut without the grants,” foundation president Joel Vest said. “There’s just a great camaraderie between teachers and the community to help fill the deficit that schools are in.”

Since its inception eight years ago, the organization has awarded more than $130,000 in grants to district programs.

The largest grants were $5,000 to purchase library books for grades six through eight in the district, and $4,760 to the department of curriculum and instruction for personnel and materials.

Harry C. Fulton Middle School was awarded $3,000 to purchase audio-visual materials in science, math and the arts, and $2,000 for computer education equipment. Isojiro Oka Elementary received a $4,300 grant for equipment and materials for its geography classes.

Samuel E. Talbert Middle School was awarded an $862 grant for its audio-visual program, Kasuo Masuda Middle School received $870 for equipment and field trips for science classes, and William T. Newland School was granted $420 for its handicapped program.