Schools

North Druid Hills Nonprofit Raises Almost $120,000

The Lakeside Foundation's Valhalla Project has raised almost $120,000 toward their $1.5 million goal.

After matching gifts are received, a group of concerned residents will have raised close to $120,000 toward a final goal of about $1.5 million for renovations at .

The first phase of the project would fund artificial turf, a running path around the perimeter of campus, additional lunchtime seating, outdoor storage for athletic equipment and updated signage. These projects would total $800,000 according to the Dream List on the project’s website.

Current at Lakeside is being funded by the district but only includes renovations to the inside of the school, including a 25-classroom addition, a fine arts center and updated bathrooms.

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Aligning future construction to run along with the current would save the project money so the group hopes to raise the funding for the first phase within the next year, Lakeside Principal Joe Reed said.

Reed helps the group by speaking on its behalf and, at times, contacting potential donors.  

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“It is essential to creating the community focal point that Lakeside should be,” Reed said.

His belief in the project even led him to donate $5,000 of his own money.

After the first phase is complete, an additional $580,000 would be slated for a concession stand with bathrooms, outdoor lighting which would allow for the hosting of home games, a band tower and other general renovations.

An additional 10 percent of raised funds would be reserved for future unknown costs.

The Valhalla Project is a project of the Lakeside High School Foundation, Inc., a nonprofit started by Tara Stamps and her husband in 2006 for education grants and physical improvements not covered by the PTA or the county.

Most donations have come from parents but Stamps said she hopes that she can get some big money from bigger donors.

“We are really just trying to get our feet wet," she said. "I think what we need to do is try and target some large businesses that have the capital that they can donate to a project like this."

Stamps said that although most of the current Lakeside students will not be able to see the fruits of their hard work, the benefit that renovations would provide to the community are worth it.

“I’m just very proud of the students," Stamps said. "They could say ‘I’m not going to be here for any of this’, but they have such pride in the school and they want to see their neighborhood at its best."

Donors can purchase a brick, make direct monetary contributions or even support the project by buying a chicken sandwich after school.

A student task force, formed to generate funds for the lunchtime courtyard, participates in various fundraisers in support of the project.

Members sell Chick-Fil-A sandwiches after school, corsages and boutonnieres for prom and snow cones throughout the summer. Currently the team raised more than $2,000 for the project, with plans to start a movie night fundraiser in the fall.

"It’s an investment in the community," Stamps said.

Find out more at TheValhallaProject.org.


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