Volunteer of the Week
Main Line Times
Thursday, August 9, 2007
Profile
Name: Richard Wells
Volunteers for: Lower Merion Education Foundation
Resides in: Bala Cynwyd
By JOEL FRAM
As local school budgets face tightening - in Lower Merion and everywhere else - many educational programs that fall outside of the basics are threatened. Last year in Pennsylvania, Act 1 legislation was passed limiting how much school budgets can increase each year in the state. In response, a group of community leaders, at the suggestion of School Superintendent Jamie Savedoff, formed The Education Foundation of Lower Merion to provide a source of funding for schools in the district that's not limited by the district's budget. The group's president is Richard Wells, a resident of Bala Cynwyd with three children in Lower Merion schools.
Wells is a well-spoken man of 48 who is no stranger to volunteer work. He has served on the board of the Bala Cynwyd Neighborhood Club and has coached for the Main Line Girls Basketball Association and the Penn Valley Basketball League. He sees his involvement in the Foundation as an example of "enlightened self-interest," given his children in the system and the fact that he is a property owner.
And the rewards of volunteering have, in fact, been material as well as psychological to Wells. One day in 1985, he was walking through the Penn campus when he passed a table for the Center for Literacy, which was recruiting volunteers. He signed up; tutoring led to helping the organization with its public relations, which led to a career in the field. Now, he has his own public affairs and marketing consulting business, Wellynn Group, begun in June of this year with a partner.
The first local education foundations were begun in California in the 1970s; there are now thousands nationally, and about 200 in Pennsylvania. The Education Foundation of Lower Merion was begun in the summer of 2006 and is still a start-up, feeling its way and raising basic funds.
The Foundation operates independently of the school district, but in close collaboration with it. Its purpose is not to fund such routine expenses as teachers' salaries or textbooks, but to address needs that might not be otherwise funded, such as staff development opportunities, lab equipment or the enhancement of educational programs. Wells makes it clear that the group does not want to "replace or step in the way of" other groups such as the HSA, the JON NIMERFROH/Main Line Times Lower Merion Scholarship Fund or the Inner School Council.
As a 501(c)(3) charitable organization, the Foundation provides a means for donors to help the school system while obtaining a tax deduction. And donors are able to target their contributions toward their own pet projects within the schools.
Wells grew up outside Media, attended the University of Virginia, and earned an MBA from St. Joseph's. He has lived in Lower Merion since 1995. All members of his family are involved with Lower Merion schools: his wife, Maria, teaches French at Cynwyd Elementary School and their three children, Kate, Caroline and Gabe, are going into the 12th, 10th and seventh grades, respectively.
Wells says he has been a "huge music fan all life," and he has recently become a musician himself He's taking lessons in bass guitar at Harcum, and is looking for people to jam with.
Though fund raising is difficult, Wells, says, so is giving money away. It's a serious responsibility to disburse funds where they will have the most impact, and where donors' intentions are respected. For its June meeting, the Foundation received close to 50 grant applications and gave away close to $9,000 for such causes as the high school orchestra, library books emphasizing diversity, and chimes for the bell choir.
Wells would like to see the Foundation grow to command a. large endowment so it can make a significant impact on education and create a "better environment for teachers and staff who are doing such important work on behalf of our kids." The group has already sent out two letters appealing for donations and plans two more later this year, as well as a phonathon. On the first Saturday will sponsor in November, the group will sponsor a gala at Ardmore Toyota with food, music, a silent and open auction, and "minimal remarks" by speakers. The event is being organized, Wells says, by "an incredible committee of volunteers."
The Foundation, Wells says, wants to hear from teachers and administrators about projects that need support and from donors who might be willing to help with them. If a student in the district has an idea, Wells says, he or she should ask a teacher or a principal to get behind it.
Wells says that Lower Merion has "one of the finest school districts in the country, and I believe that it deserves to be continued and supported." He is gratified at the support the Foundation has received both by parents and the business community. For more information about the Education Foundation of Lower Merion, or to make a donation, visit www.educationfoundationoflm.org or write to P.O. Box 79, Narberth, PA 19072.
Joel Fram is a regular contributor to the Main Line Times. To suggest a Volunteer of the Week, email him at frambook@aol.com.