UMASS Employees can Donate to Fort River PGO through the UMACC

The annual UMass-Amherst Community Campaign (UMACC) is underway. 

The UMACC program lets UMass employees donate to charitable organizations via paycheck, as little as $1 per pay period. Did you know that UMass employees can donate to the Fort River PGO through the UMACC? Hurry - the deadline is January 31st!

You can choose the amount, and if you opt for payroll deductions, you can split it among several payrolls. The Fort River PGO is a 501(c)3 non-profit organization and your donations are tax deductible. The Fort River PGO UMACC number is 15301. UMass employees can signup with their their UMass NetID at http://www.umass.edu/umacc/login.

Book Donations Needed NOW for School Book Share

The book share is back! Please bring your donations in during January so we can have a successful Book Share right before February break. 

What is the Book Share? It's a wonderful school-wide event that celebrates reading and giving. Families donate books they've finished and free up more space for more books in home libraries. Once volunteers organize the gifted books every student has a chance to "shop" the collection (with help!) All students generally leave with multiple "new to them" books!

Free up some shelf space, give a book another chance to be loved, and support literacy all at once!

Nonfiction, puzzle books, chapter books, picture books  — we want it all! We always seem to especially need chapter books for the higher grades.

There is a donation bin near the entrance to the office at Fort River. Thanks to Deb Leonard for once again coordinating this event! Contact Deb dleeleonard@gmail.com if you would prefer your donations to be picked up. Thank you!

Giving Tuesday is November 28 - So Many Ways to Give

#GivingTuesday is a global giving movement that has been built by individuals, families, organizations, businesses and communities in all 50 states and in countries around the world. Millions of people come together to support and champion the causes they believe in and the communities in which they live.

Random acts of kindness are a great way to teach young children about giving and supporting each other. Helping a neighbor with yard work or donating clothes and books are easy ways to get kids involved. The Fort River Student Council is currently organizing a toy and necessities drive for victims of Hurricane Maria. The Amherst Survival Center and local religious groups have ongoing opportunities to donate or volunteer locally. The Amherst Education Foundation provides grants to ARPS teachers allowing students to tangibly see their families' donations at work.

The Fort River PGO also depends on generous giving from our community so that we can continue to support the work of our incredible teachers and staff. The Annual Fund needs to cover about 30% of the annual budget. Please consider joining the Fort River community on Tuesday, November 28, 2017 by including the PGO in your end-of-year giving. If you are able to help, please click here to donate using PayPal or send a check into the Main Office made out to "Fort River PGO." Thanks!

Support Amherst Education Foundation

"My fourth grade students love learning about what has come before them and finding similarities in what is around them now. I think of Ralph Waldo Emerson's statement, ‘Of the works of our mind, history is the record.’ It's certainly true that the teaching of history allows students to not only learn about the importance of the past but offers them the opportunity to learn from our mistakes." 

- John Keins, Fourth Grade Teacher, Fort River Elementary School

We love this quote from Mr. Keins that was published in a recent outreach email from the Amherst Education Foundation! If you aren't familiar with their work please check them out at https://www.amhersteducationfoundation.org/