Ongoing Student Support
Sustaining Opportunities That Help Students Thrive
Some student needs require more than a one-time gift. The Elizabethtown Area Education Foundation helps sustain programs that support students throughout the year, remove barriers to success, and prepare young people for life beyond high school.
Through ongoing community support, the Foundation helps EASD students access essential resources, meaningful career experiences, and hands-on learning opportunities that can shape their futures.
Career & Workforce Readiness
The Foundation helps support career and workforce readiness opportunities that allow students to explore interests, develop real-world skills, earn credentials, and prepare for meaningful futures after high school.
In partnership with the District and local organizations, EASD students can access a broad range of hands-on learning and career-development experiences, including:
- Career and Technical Education: Full-day and half-day trade and technical programs through the Lancaster County Career and Technology Center
- In-House Career Programs: Welding instruction aligned with American Welding Society SENSE standards and hands-on learning through EASD’s agriculture program
- Internships and Cooperative Work Experiences: On-the-job learning with local businesses that helps students explore careers and build practical workplace knowledge
- Skilled Trades and Manufacturing: Electrical, construction, HVAC, plumbing, heavy-equipment, and manufacturing pre-apprenticeship opportunities through the Independent Electrical Contractors, Associated Builders and Contractors Keystone Chapter, and the Manufacturers’ Association
- Future Educators Program: Opportunities that help students explore careers in education, develop leadership skills, and gain experience working with younger learners.
These experiences help students pursue a wide range of next steps, including postsecondary education, technical training, registered apprenticeships, military service, and direct entry into the workforce. Foundation support helps strengthen access to opportunities that prepare students for life and work in a changing world.
Bear Bags Food Program
The Bear Bags Food Program helps ensure eligible students have access to nutritious food when school meals are not available on weekends and during school breaks.
Through this volunteer-supported and community-funded program, students receive a backpack filled with nutritious food to take home each weekend. The program provides an important layer of support for students and families, helping reduce food insecurity and allowing students to return to school ready to learn.
The Foundation is especially grateful to White Family Dental, whose generous ongoing support helps make the Bear Bags Food Program possible. Their commitment ensures that students can continue to receive this important resource throughout the school year.
Funding Lasting Opportunity
The Foundation’s ongoing support for students is made possible through individual and business contributions, Pennsylvania Educational Improvement Tax Credit (EITC) participation, and generous grant partners.
The Foundation is especially grateful to the Clark Foundation, which has provided two grants totaling $180,000, including an $80,000 grant and a subsequent $100,000 grant to help expand and sustain opportunities for EASD students.
Through a longstanding partnership, Masonic Village of Elizabethtown also provides $15,000 annually to support innovation in EASD schools. This investment previously supported the District’s Teacher Mini Grant program and now helps make the Foundation’s Think BIG initiative possible.
These investments help ensure that vital programs and experiences can continue to serve students today while building a stronger foundation for the future.
Help Sustain Student Success
Your support helps the Foundation continue to provide essential resources and meaningful opportunities for EASD students—both inside and outside the classroom.