The A to Z Fund provides grants to individual schools for programs and activities that go beyond schools’ limited budgets. For Edison Elementary, the A to Z Fund allowed a group of autistic students the chance to participate in therapeutic horseback riding. For one student, who was new to this class, this was the first time he had the opportunity to interact with horses. When unsettled he would frequently become angry resulting in self-injurious activities. One day while at the ranch the student became upset and happened to be standing by a horse. The horse leaned over, reached his long nose to the student’s shoulder, and immediately the little boy calmed down. This moment truly exhibited the power of the connection a horse can make with an autistic child.
The funding provided through the A to Z grant allowed the students the opportunity to visit the ranch each week of the spring semester. These sessions gave students the chance to practice the skills they focused on at school, like communication, in a new environment. The structured activities also allowed the students the chance to learn about new things like how to care for an animal, an opportunity to touch and feel the animals, and the chance to walk the ranch to see what types of bushes the animals fed from. After returning from the ranch the students often talked about what they learned that day. For many students, this was an accomplishment and sign of cognition and progress!
The DPS Foundation is proud to provide extra support for our schools that help to enhance classroom learning. The A to Z Fund provides grants for educational materials, athletic equipment, enrichment classes, competition fees, field trip expenses and more. This program provides equal opportunity for students district-wide to participate in enrichment opportunities.
Despite receiving hundreds of highly qualified applications each semester, the DPS Foundation only has funding to fulfill approximately two-thirds of all grant requests. We need your help to expand the A to Z Fund and empower our teachers to give their students the opportunities, resources and experiences they need and deserve in their education.
YOU can make more classroom grants possible by supporting the A to Z Fund. There are three easy ways to invest in programs that go beyond the school’s budget:
- Visit www.dpsfoundation.org and click “Donate Now”
- Mail a check to DPS Foundation, 1860 Lincoln Street, 9th Floor, Denver, CO 80203
- Call us at (720) 423-3553
