Dot Foods grants Jacksonville school foundation $5k for student needs

JACKSONVILLE, Ill. (WCIA) — $5,000 in grant money is going toward the Jacksonville Public Schools Foundation to help support the needs of underserved students in the district.

Leslie DeFrates, the foundation’s Executive Director, said they money comes from the Mt. Sterling distribution center of Dot Foods Inc. Each of the company’s distribution centers sponsor a charitable giving program that gives back to the community, with education in the area of each distribution center as a focus area.

“Supporting the communities our employees call home was always priority for Dot’s co-founders, Robert and Dorothy Tracy,” explained John Sutor, co-chair of the company’s Mt. Sterling charitable committee. “Education and local schools were especially close to Dorothy Tracy’s heart, as a teacher and long-time school board member herself. We are so happy to be able to assist the students and families in the Jacksonville School District with this grant.”

The money will go toward the JPSF’s Student Needs Fund, which provides shoes, coats, clothes, school supplies and personal hygiene items to students. DeFrates said they submitted a grant application to Dot Foods because they’ve seen a significant increase in the number of requests for these items over the last 18 months, a reflection of the economic issues impacting the entire country.

“We are truly grateful to be a recipient of this grant, and we appreciate the amazing philanthropy that Dot Foods, Inc. provides to its local communities,” DeFrates said. “This grant will help the JPSF fulfill its mission of building resources to support and enhance the programs of District #117 while serving its community of educators and students.”

The JPSF is a nonprofit foundation that is separate from Jacksonville School District #117, with its own Board of Directors. But it’s purpose, DeFrates said, is to support and enhance the district’s programs and serve its community of educators and students.

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