Cape Girardeau Public School Foundation

Year established: 2003

Product or service offered: Enhanced Resources to Cape Girardeau Public School

# of employees: 1 employee, 10 Board of Directors

Location: 301 N. Clark, Cape Girardeau

Describe your business/occupation in exactly five words.: Raise Extra Money for CGPS.

What is your vision for your business and/or your industry in 2012?

Amy S. McDonald, Executive Director: In 2012 the Cape Girardeau Public School Foundation will seek to further enhance the education of Cape's students through excellence in teaching. We can affect hundreds of Cape students by seeking increased donations and endowments to support our Great Ideas Teaching Grants program. This year we would love to see every school in the district receive at least one grant.

Give us an example or two of an idea that came to fruition in the last couple of years, and how has that helped your consumers or clients?

AM: One of the grants that CGPS Foundation has funded is called the Brown Bag Book Club at Franklin Elementary. This program, which encouraged elementary students and their parents to read together over school lunch hour, was so successful that it has been implemented in other elementary schools and has included more than 1,040 students.

What role does your business play in the betterment of the community?

AM: Education is one of the greatest factors in the success of a community. Without a sound and good educational base for employers, the city cannot grow and improve. The CGPS Foundation provides a great way for the community to support teachers, which in turn positively impacts the next generation.