ARTICLE SOURCE: San Bruno Community Foundation - CA
I am pleased to share with you the news at that the
San Bruno Community Foundation's Board of Directors approved long-term
funding to help fifth grade students in the San Bruno Park School
District attend the San Mateo County Office of Education’s
award-winning Outdoor Education program.
The Board awarded a $160,000 grant to the San Bruno Education
Foundation to support the program in the 2025-2026 and 2026-2027 school
years and also designated $2 million as
Quasi-Endowment specifically for the Outdoor Education program, with
annual grants to be awarded for the program from Quasi-Endowment payout
beginning in the 2027-2028 school year.
Known for its significant educational and developmental benefits for
participating students, the Outdoor Education program is a one-week,
overnight camp program run by the San Mateo County Office of Education
in cooperation with local schools throughout the county and the San
Francisco YMCA Camp Jones Gulch in the Santa Cruz Mountains. Each
year, about 200 San Bruno Park School District fifth graders and their
teachers participate in the program.
Typically, the families of participating students – supplemented by
fundraising activities organized by the elementary school PTAs – cover
the program fees, which this year cost $550 per student, and the cost
of renting buses to transport them to and from the camp location, which
can together total nearly $130,000 districtwide. SBCF
grant funding will substantially relieve the burden on the PTAs to
fundraise and the families to pay out-of-pocket to cover the program
expenses, thus ensuring that all SBPSD fifth graders who want to
attend the Outdoor Education program are able to do so, regardless of
their economic circumstance.
The press release announcing this initiative is attached below
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CONTACT:
Leslie Hatamiya
Executive Director
SAN BRUNO COMMUNITY FOUNDATION PROVIDES
LONG-TERM FUNDING FOR SAN BRUNO PARK SCHOOL DISTRICT OUTDOOR EDUCATION PROGRAM
Funding to Support San
Bruno Fifth Graders’ Participation in Transformative Program Is One of the
Foundation’s Final Legacy Projects
San Bruno,
California, March 11, 2026 – At its March 4, 2026,
regular meeting, the Board of Directors
of the San Bruno Community Foundation approved
long-term funding to help fifth grade
students in the San Bruno Park School District attend the San Mateo County
Office of Education’s award-winning
Outdoor Education program. The Board
awarded a $160,000 grant to the San Bruno Education Foundation to support the
program in the 2025-2026 and 2026-2027 school years and also designated $2
million as Quasi-Endowment specifically for
the Outdoor Education program, with annual grants to be awarded for the program
from Quasi-Endowment payout beginning
in the 2027-2028 school year.
Known
for its significant educational and developmental benefits for participating
students, the Outdoor Education program is a one-week, overnight camp program run by the San Mateo County Office
of Education in cooperation with local schools throughout the county and the
San Francisco YMCA Camp Jones Gulch in the Santa Cruz Mountains. Each year, about 200
San Bruno Park School District fifth graders and their teachers
participate in the program. Typically,
the families of
participating students – supplemented
by fundraising activities organized by the
elementary
school PTAs – cover the program fees, which
this year cost $550 per student, and the cost of renting buses to
transport them to and from the camp location, which can together total nearly $130,000 districtwide. SBCF grant funding will substantially relieve
the burden on the PTAs to fundraise
and the families to pay out-of-pocket
to cover the program expenses,
thus ensuring that all SBPSD fifth graders
who want to attend the Outdoor Education program are able to do so,
regardless of their economic circumstance.
“Outdoor
Education is exactly the kind of transformative, districtwide program – an experience that all District fifth
graders should have the opportunity to attend –
that is ideal for one of the San Bruno Community Foundation’s final
legacy projects,” said SBCF President Malissa Netane-Jones. “By making this
funding commitment to this program, the Foundation is ensuring that San Bruno
public elementary school students will be able to explore the outdoors and
develop valuable life skills through the Outdoor Education program.”
“For
many San Bruno students, Outdoor Education is their first time away from home
and a once-in-a-lifetime, milestone experience that not
only develops in them an appreciation for the natural world, but also nurtures
their self-confidence, self-esteem,
and independence,” said SBPSD Superintendent
Matt Duffy. “We are so grateful for the
San Bruno Community Foundation’s investment in the Outdoor Education
program. With this funding, the San
Bruno Park School District is likely the
only district in the county with a dedicated, ongoing funding source for
Outdoor Education.”
To fund this commitment to the SBPSD
Outdoor Education program, SBCF is utilizing
investment proceeds from the restitution funds received from the City of San
Bruno’s settlement with Pacific Gas & Electric Company, following
the 2010 gas pipeline explosion that devastated San Bruno’s Crestmoor neighborhood.
This initiative is one of SBCF’s final legacy projects as it
allocates its remaining net assets. The
$2 million in earmarked funds will be invested
with a long-term endowment profile as part of SBCF’s investment
portfolio, with an annual withdrawal funding
an annual grant targeted at
approximately $100,000 beginning in
the
2027-2028 school year. Immediate
grant funding will provide $60,000 for the program in
the current school year and $100,000 in 2026-2027. SBCF will make the Outdoor Education grants
to the San Bruno Education Foundation, which serves as a fundraising partner for SBPSD.
“Outdoor Education is one of the highlights of the
elementary school experience for San Bruno Park School District students, but the increase in program costs
over the years has created significant funding challenges for the school
district, the PTAs, and fifth grade families,” said Heather Latta, President of the San Bruno Education Foundation. “The
PTAs often complain about fundraising fatigue related to Outdoor Education,
as they organize bake, popsicle, catalog,
and other sales to raise the necessary funds. Not only
will this tremendous investment by
the San Bruno Community Foundation enable all fifth graders to participate in
Outdoor Ed regardless of their families’ ability to pay, but it also will allow the PTAs and parent
volunteers to focus on supporting many other important school activities,
instead of dedicating so much of their time
and energy each year to fundraising for the Outdoor Education program.”
Since 2016, the San Bruno Community Foundation has invested
nearly $70 million in the San Bruno community through the Community Grants Fund,
the Crestmoor Neighborhood Memorial Scholarship, and a variety of
strategic grants. SBCF’s most notable
initiative has been its $51.5 million
investment in the design and construction of the San Bruno Recreation
and Aquatic Center, which opened in the
summer of 2024.
The San Bruno Community Foundation is the nonprofit
organization created by the City of San Bruno to administer the $70 million in
restitution funds received from PG&E after the devastating 2010 gas
pipeline explosion in San Bruno’s Crestmoor neighborhood. The Foundation
serves the San Bruno community by investing in projects, programs, services,
and facilities that have significant and lasting benefits.
Through making grants, leveraging partnerships, and taking advantage of other
resources, the SBCF assists and enables the
community to maximize shared investments and realize their subsequent
enhancements and benefits.
# # #
Leslie Hatamiya
Executive Director
San Bruno Community Foundation
901 Sneath Lane, Suite 209, San Bruno, CA 94066
lhatamiya-sbcf@sanbruno.ca.gov
Office (650) 763-0775
www.sbcf.org
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