The Chatham Education Foundation has received a $4,000 grant from the Bynum Front Porch. The grant was presented to CEF board member Ashley Fowler at the Bynum Front Porch’s January meeting.
Bynum Front Porch, formed in 2006, is a nonprofit dedicated to fostering family-friendly events and preserving its unique heritage. The organization manages the Bynum General Store and its grounds, while hosting music and storytelling shows.
Bynum Front Porch raises money through a variety of fundraising activities including Christmas tree sales, business sponsorships, 50-50 raffles at music shows, and the passing of “The Hat”—a pith helmet passed around at shows to collect money for the bands and the nonprofit.
Over the years, Bynum Front Porch has given more than $30,000 in scholarships to Chatham County students who are the first in their family to attend college. This year the nonprofit decided to partner with the Chatham Education Foundation to better distribute funds to the students of Chatham County rather than giving individual students grants to further their education. “We felt that in supporting the Chatham Education Foundation’s efforts, our contributions would help more students in our schools to achieve a good education and prepare them for life after high school,” said Martha Collins, a Bynum Front Porch board member.
The Chatham Education Foundation is a nonprofit organization whose mission is to engage our community as public school advocates and to raise funds and resources to support innovation and education excellence in the Chatham County Schools. We support programs like AVID that help students achieve their full potential; we fund innovation and creativity among our teachers; and we facilitate literacy initiatives that build the foundation of learning for young students.