Shelter Island Reporter editorial: Opening eyes
Teenagers (or most people for that matter) don’t often recognize the wisdom that life can only be understood by looking back, although it must be lived going forward.
Education beyond the classroom — and way beyond excursions through the internet — are essential to providing experiences to make a young person aware of a wide world of people, cultures and places that can’t be found at home or on a cellphone
Almost 30 years ago, a new school superintendent, Lydia Axelrod, arrived on Shelter Island. Halfway through her tenure, she saw that students required more than just classroom and homework studies, and needed more exposure to experiences for them to grow as individuals.
“Even though many of the kids were born in New York state, many had never even been to New York City,” she said, that world mecca of culture, so close by, but for some, very far away. She brought along with her an idea — a timeless gift that would benefit all local children.
Before she became superintendent of Shelter Island School, she held the same position in a small town in Pennsylvania. She and her husband Burt and members of the faculty came up with the idea of a nonprofit to fund trips for the kids.
They formed a 501c3 organization, secured a grant from the Carnegie Foundation and began soliciting donations. The new organization took off, as did the one on Shelter Island, created in 1995.
With a great deal of work and an amazing assembly of local volunteer board members, the Shelter Island Educational Foundation was created.
Since then, over nearly three decades, the Foundation has provided programs as varied as sailing trips on schooners; excursions to Ground Zero; museum trips, including to the Holocaust and Tenement museums; trips abroad for language immersion experiences; a dress rehearsal at the Metropolitan Opera; Broadway shows with pre-performance acting workshops; athletic and science camps and much more.
Now the SIEF needs Islanders to assist in this essential component for young people’s education here. It has announced the opening of its Spring 2022 Grant Cycle on March 14. Applicants are encouraged to develop ideas for funding and submit them before April 14.
Last fall, the Foundation awarded grants of $31,850 for a number of programs, including a trip to Spain this summer for Island students; a 7th grade sailing adventure on Black Dog Tall Ships; Broadway shows; immigrant and ethnic studies in New York City; cheerleading stunt training and more.
Get in touch today at shelterislandedfoundation.org to find out how you can help make young Islander’s lives richer, more rewarding by expanding their knowledge of the world, and by doing so, they will become ready for the challenges and joys of an enlightened and fulfilling life. Information on applying for grants is available at the Foundation’s website.
