San Jose, February 7, 2017: Moreland School District is proud to announced that Vasudha Rao, a Moreland Middle School (MMS) parent, has been selected as the Junior League of San Jose’s Crystal Bowl Award Winner, in the category of Professional Services. Vasudha was nominated by the Moreland School District and the Moreland Education Foundation (MEF) for her work with MEF as their Treasurer, Moreland Middle School MEF Site Representative and Music in Moreland co-chair. Liz Youngman, a parent at Easterbrook Discovery School (EDS) was also nominated by the District and MEF and will receive a certificate and be honored for her work as the Music in Moreland co-chair in the category of Leadership.
As Treasurer, Vasudha is a member of MEF’s Executive Board, providing strategic planning and organizational direction with the goal of positively impacting the Moreland community. Vasudha is responsible for managing a $323,400 budget, plays a large role in the fundraising and generating the funds for MEF. She saved MEF thousands of dollars by setting up the MEF company-matching program online and implemented a vendor processing workflow that enables all MEF vendors to easily send/receive payments for all MEF operations and fundraising event activities. In addition to her role on MEF’s Executive Board, Vasudha serves as the co-chair for Music in Moreland and Moreland Middle School’s Site Representative relaying information back to the school site staff and the parent community.
Liz Youngman is the co-chair of Music in Moreland, the Moreland Education Foundation (MEF) branch that supports the instrumental music program for 4th - 8th graders. MiM contributes $125,000 for the District’s programs, which is 25% of the cost. As the chair, Liz creates and manages the budget, oversees the fundraisers and direct donation campaigns, assists music teachers with instrumental repair needs, coordinates the seasonal concerts and holds MiM meetings to determine priorities. Liz also manages all aspects of the summer music program through MEF’s Enrichment Summer Program and also serves on the MEF Executive Board.
“Moreland is extremely lucky to have such dedicated, hard-working, passionate volunteers in our community,” said Superintendent Mary Kay Going. “Vasudha and Liz spend countless hours behind the scenes doing work that people don’t know about, and I am thrilled they are being recognized publicly for their contributions to the Moreland School District. Thank you to all our parent and community volunteers who help enrich the educational opportunities for our students. You are appreciated!”
The Junior League of San Jose (JLSJ) is a charitable organization of women committed to developing the potential of women, improving the community and promoting volunteerism through the effective action and leadership of trained volunteers. The Junior League of San Jose promotes and recognizes volunteers through its annual community-wide Volunteer Recognition Luncheon to be held at the Santa Clara Convention Center in April.
The Moreland Education Foundation (MEF) is an all-volunteer group of parents who support all seven Moreland schools, with the goal to increase general financial support and additional resources for Moreland District schools when public funding may not be available. Under the MEF organization, the Moreland School District is additionally supported by Music in Moreland (MiM) and Sports in Moreland(SiM). To learn more, visit www.mefhome.org.