The "Polar Bear Initiative" for 2021

Supporting Educational Enhancements for Northridge Students through the
Northridge Polar Bear Foundation Fund​  - a component fund of The Dayton Foundation
The 2020 Polar Bear Fund Initiative
The last couple of years have been a challenge for the Northridge school district, with the tornado devastation in 2019, and the COVID-19 related setbacks and strains on the budget in 2020, continuing into 2021. The Northridge Optimist Club and The Dayton Foundation are seeking donors to help sustain the kind of support that enriches the educational experience for the students. We are reaching out to friends of the Northridge Optimist Club, Northridge alumni, area businesses, and community members to help support these efforts for the coming school year, and beyond.
​See the donation information at the right.  
Why this Year is Important:
Your help is especially needed for the 2020-2021 school year. What would have been the 37th Annual Northridge Optimist Club Golf Scramble fundraiser, usually held in September, was cancelled for 2020 due to the pandemic situation. Since this golf event is held for the benefit of the Polar Bear Foundation Fund, there were no funds to add the the foundation for the coming school year without additional support from the community.
The 2019 golf outing fundraiser contributed about $5000 to the foundation from donations, sponsorships, and golfing fees, which covered the grants for the 2019-2020 school year. The Donors and hole sponsors are recognized in the 2019 event program on the event page on this website 2019 Northridge Optimist Scramble Report(CLICK HERE) - the sponsorship recognition list is shown at the bottom of that web page. Donors to the fund for 2020 will be recognized in a similar way on the club website.
There will be two more grant cycles for the remainder of the 2020-2021 school year, so the "Polar Bear Initiative" will continue for 2021. This will help to insure that Polar Bear grants can continue for the remainder of this school year, and into the 2021-2022 school year. 
What is the Northridge Polar Bear Foundation Fund?
The THE NORTHRIDGE POLAR BEAR FOUNDATION FUND was started by Northridge Local Schools as an endowment with The Dayton Foundation for funding school related programs that were not covered by school district budgets. The fund was started with an initial investment of $23,000, $16,000 of which was donated by Northridge Optimist Club. The stipulation for the use of funds was to preclude its use for scholarships.
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The disbursement of funds is handled as a grant process, with an advisory committee that evaluates applications for funds.  The Northridge Optimist Club has three members on the advisory committee, which also includes the Superintendent of Northridge Schools, and a representative from The Dayton Foundation. The application form is made available through the school. 
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Several grants have been made over the past few years for various educational programs initiated by teachers for enhancing and developing students' reading, writing, vocabulary, creative, and organizing skills.  In July of 2016 the club donated an additional $5,000 to the Polar Bear Fund. As of 2020 the club has contributed nearly $30,000 to the Polar Bear Fund and awards have been granted for about the same amount. The fund is currently disbursing about $4500 or more per school year for educational enhancements to benefit the learning experience of Northridge students of all grade levels. 
The Northridge Optimist Club is proud of its contributions to this fund and recognizes the value of enhancing the educational experience for Northridge students.  
​Some Examples of Polar Bear Grants:
A total of $5084 in grants were awarded in the 2019-2020 school year, to supplement several educational programs, including the following:
• An awards dinner honoring the academically top 20% of graduating seniors
• A "great books" program for 4th grade language arts students
• Books for a 7th grade classroom
• High school art projects
• Math study programs for grades 3 and 5
• Science projects for STEM students
• Social skills programs for K-4
• "Girls on the Run" programs for grades 3 and 5
• Books designed for special ed students
• Two Muse Machine performances at the school for grades 6-12
These are typical of the types of programs that are supported - things that fall outside of what is provided by the school district curriculum, but that provide great enrichment and added scope to the student experience. 
• For the 2020 school year, so far a total of 3 grant requests for Polar Bear fund awards were awarded for the fall cycle. This was the first cycle of three for the 2020-2021 school year at Northridge schools. The club Polar Bear Fund Committee reviewed and approved amounts as follows:
 1) Request #1: To fund a project called "BookSource Classroom" which provides students with reading materials electronically to enhance, track, and evaluate their reading and writing skills. An amount of $750 was approved.
2) Request #2: To fund a "Climate and Culture Team project" to enhance the social-emotional competence of K-12 students. An amount of $750 was approved.
3) Request #3: To fund the replacement of math picture books that were lost in the Grafton Kennedy school destruction. The requested amount of $305.80 was approved.
(In all three cases, funds received for the projects will provide educational benefits on an ongoing basis, beyond just this school year).
The total of grant awards for the first cycle of the 2020-2021 year was $1805.80.
Secure online credit card donations to the Northridge Polar Bear Foundation Fund can be made directly to The Dayton Foundation by clicking the "Donate" button which will transfer you from this website to the appropriate fund donation page on The Dayton Foundation's website.
Thank you for your desire to contribute and help make a difference. Please note the Northridge Polar Bear Foundation Fund #3451 is a component fund of The Dayton Foundation, and we process all gifts and donations through their website. Kindly click the ‘Donate’ button and you will be redirected to the foundation's website where you will be able to contribute to the Northridge Polar Bear Foundation Fund #3451.  Thank you for your support!
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​If you prefer to donate by check, you may download a printable mail-in form by clicking the button below. Checks should be made out to The Dayton Foundation, with "for the Northridge Polar Bear Foundation Fund #3451" filled out in the notation area.
Above: an excerpt from the Feb. 2019 issue of "Dividends", published by Northridge Schools, featuring a presentation of Polar Bear grants at a Northridge School Board meeting.
Click the photo to download the full copy (story on page 2).

We hope to be able to support Northridge education with grants
​ for the 2020-2021 school year, and beyond at the same level as in the past. 
With your help the "Polar Bear Initiative" can make this possible.
Thank You!
Thanks to the following donors to the Polar Bear Foundation Fund:
The "Polar Bear Initiative 2020" mailings were sent out in mid-August. Donations posted at The Dayton Foundation through the end of December, 2020 are for a total of $4900. 
Thanks to these donors, from August through December, 2020:
• Cargill, Diana Schaefer
• FC Industries, Inc., Mr. Michael Casella
• Levin Porter and Associates, Inc.
​• Mr. and Mrs. Richard G. Snider
• Mr. & Mrs. Don Knoth
• Brookville Stor-N-Lock
• Rieck Services Group
• Schumacher Crane Rental
• Mr. & Mrs. J. Michael Gorman
• Manning & Associates CPA's
• Tod Brining
• First Financial Bank, Troy, Ohio
• Loges Sales & Service, Tom Loges
• Mr. & Mrs. Thomas J. Miske
• Rathweg Insurance Associates
• Chris Young
• Mr. & Mrs. Randy Zuercher
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