Wyoming campaign: WAIC receives support and celebrates fundraising efforts
Wyoming Agriculture in the Classroom (WAIC) celebrated Wyoming’s Students Wyoming’s Future Campaign on June 1 at the Wolcott Galleria in Casper, where numerous donors and supporters attended, including Sen. John Barrasso (R-WY).
Wyoming’s Students Wyoming’s Future Campaign raised a total of $4,767,577. This was raised from 427 donors with gifts from all across Wyoming. Wyoming is special in how people respond to the needs of their communities.
WAIC Executive Director Jessie Dafoe shared, “You helped our organization in a critical time of growth, but more so, you have helped Wyoming students, teachers and families. I was honored to serve on a scholarship panel earlier this year where a young lady said, ‘Whatever my community lacks, I also lack.’ I thought this was so profound from such a young student. It made me think of the collective problem we have all recognized in our state, which is our youth’s understanding of our core industries, the use of critical thinking skills and the internalization of stewardship. The best news, the Wyoming Stewardship Project addresses all of this and fills the need we have for Wyoming. Your support helps solve the problem.”
This campaign directly supports the Wyoming Stewardship Project, a free curriculum available to Wyoming educators and students throughout the state. The purpose of this project is for students to gain an understanding of Wyoming’s vast resources and become informed citizens capable of serving as stewards of Wyoming’s future.
These students will become voters, community leaders and legislators. They must have a foundational understanding of our state and the critical thinking skills to strengthen and lead Wyoming in the next 20 years and beyond. This happens by creating curiosity and overall awareness at a young age, the reason for focusing on elementary classrooms.
The curriculum provides units of study around three main economic drivers for Wyoming: agriculture, minerals and energy and outdoor recreation and tourism. WAIC is committed to growing Wyoming’s next generation.
WAIC’s goal is to reach 825 second to fifth grade classrooms by 2025. An effort like this is only possible through the generous involvement of the Wyoming families through their support.
WAIC could not be more grateful and excited to send out the education advocates (the campaign funds support these positions) to serve Wyoming communities, specifically the educators and students.
Rindy West, development director, shared her thoughts when thanking the many generous donors.
“The cowboy spirit is something we believe made this campaign a great one, and we just can’t say thank you enough. As we celebrate this effort and focus on attaining the challenging goals of the future, we know we will continue to seek those that realize the value of these lessons in agriculture, minerals and energy and outdoor recreation and tourism,” says West.
WAIC envisions a future in which the interdependence of Wyoming’s people, agriculture and natural resources is acknowledged and valued for the benefit of all communities. Interested parties can support this work and encourage an elementary teacher to attend a summer workshop.
To learn more, visit wyaitc.org.
This article is courtesy of Wyoming Ag in the Classroom. Send comments on this article to roundup@wylr.net.
