College Station ISD staff pledged over $100,000 this year through the Project Smile Giving Campaign.
Teresa Benden, CSISD Education Foundation Director, said about 45% of district employees are participating through automatic payroll deduction or a one-time gift.
“One of the things I was really striving for this year was really more about participation rather than dollars,” said Benden.
Benden said the internal fundraising campaign benefits educational programs throughout the district including teacher grants and student scholarships.
“To me, that is the biggest stamp of approval, is to have their support. They are the ones seeing all the different programs that we implement, and if they didn’t feel like we were doing a good job implementing those programs or supporting those programs, then they certainly wouldn’t want to give,” said Benden about CSISD employees.
The employee giving campaign was launched seven years ago with $15,000 in donations and has grown each year.
Click below to hear Teresa Benden visiting with WTAW’s Chelsea Reber.