The Adopt-A-School Sustainer Drive is winding down, but it is not too late to become involved.  The Adopt-A-School business-education partnership program is completing its twenty-third year of success in Tuscaloosa; however, tax-deductible monetary support is essential to the continued success of this program

 

Adopters and Sustainers are the livelihood of the Adopt-A-School program.  Adopters give support through donated time, expertise, and financial commitments.  Sustainers provide the financial support necessary for the coordination and administrative function of the entire program. 

 

Businesses and organizations may participate in the Sustainer program at the Board, Superintendent, Principal, Teacher, or Mentor levels of support.  At all levels of participation a Sustaining partner provides a donation to the West Alabama Chamber Foundation, Inc., an IRS approved 501 ( c ) (3) charitable foundation. 

 

To help the Adopt-A-School Program face the challenges ahead in the 2008-2009 school year, indicate your level of commitment on the Sustainer Commitment Form and return it to the Adopt-A-School office today!  For additional information about participating as a sustainer or adopting a school in the Tuscaloosa City or Tuscaloosa County School Systems, contact Loo Whitfield at 391-0563 or loo@tuscaloosachamber.com.

Would you like to make a direct impact of the future workforce in Tuscaloosa County?  Have you ever wondered about involving your business as an adopter for a public school? Several students in both the Tuscaloosa City School System and the Tuscaloosa County School System will attend new schools next August and adopters are needed for five of these new schools. 

 

Three new schools are scheduled to open in the Tuscaloosa County School System and adopters are needed for two of the schools: Lake View Elementary School and Duncanville Middle School.  Students from Brookwood and Vance Elementary Schools living in the Lake View and Tannehill areas will attend the new Lake View Elementary School.  Duncanville Middle School will open to relieve some of the over crowding in Hillcrest Middle School.

 

Four new schools are scheduled to open in the Tuscaloosa City School System and adopters are needed for three of the schools: South Elementary School, South Middle School and University Place Middle School.  The new South Elementary School and the new South Middle School will be housed temporarily in the current Tuscaloosa Middle School building until their new facility near the intersection of Cypress Creek Road and New Judge Factory Road is completed.  University Place Middle School will be located on the University Place Elementary School campus.

 

We need you! Five new schools scheduled to open in August of 2008 need adopters. Why not consider taking an active role as an Adopt-A-School partner? The program is flexible. Each partnership develops its own goals and activities based on the resources of the adopter and the needs of the schools. The possibilities are unlimited!

 

Call Loo Whitfield today at 391-0563 or email loo@tuscaloosachamber.com for more information. There's no obligation, nothing to lose, and it could be the beginning of a very rewarding experience for you and your business as well as providing much-needed assistance for a public school in Tuscaloosa!

Adopt-A-School Coordinators, remember, the End of the Year Report and Coordinator form  are due June 1^st.  This is a very important part of our evaluation process and we need feedback from everyone, schools and adopters.  The Adopt-A-School Annual Report is dependent upon receiving accurate and complete information from all partners. We use this data continuously throughout the year to share ideas among existing partnerships as well as in recruiting new supporters for the program.  Please be sure to list each project with a brief description of each so that others can benefit from your ideas and projects. 

 

It might have been "April Fool's Day" for some area students, but April 1^st proved to be a great day for Holt Elementary School students.  Not only did the students have their "Reading Redemption Day", but they also received a surprise visit from representatives of their Adopt-A-School partner, Wal-Mart Supercenter #715.   Melinda Newton and Mary Whiteside from Wal-Mart visited Holt Elementary and surprised principal, Debbie Crawford and AAS Coordinator, Liz Belk with a check designated for the new playground.  The staff, students and Holt community have been working hard to fund their new playground and the funds donated by Wal-Mart provided a generous boost to their efforts. 

 

During the surprise visit, the Wal-Mart representatives caught both Ms. Crawford and Ms. Belk busy helping Holt Elementary students redeem their reading "points" for books provided by Adopt-A-School partners, Junior League of Tuscaloosa and Sam's Club.  Each nine week grading period, students accumulate points by reading books and then have the opportunity to "purchase" books by "redeeming" points they acquired.  The books available for the students to purchase are provided by Junior League and Sam's Club.  Junior League members help with the distribution of the books and recently provided the custom made book shelves to make the "shopping" easier for the students. 

The Radiology Clinic helps support their Adopt-A-School partner, Buhl Elementary each year by making a monetary donation to each teacher.  The donated funds were used to purchase math and phonic games, as well as other traditional classroom supplies.  Joan Brown, Adopt-A-School coordinator for The Radiology Clinic enjoyed looking over the new materials with several Buhl students. 

DCH Regional Medical Center and their Adopt-A-School partner, Hillcrest High School, work together on various projects throughout the year, including the Teddy Bear and Doll Clinic. DCH held its annual Teddy Bear and Doll Clinic on February 26th and over 800 first grade students from Tuscaloosa County brought their teddy bears and dolls as "patients" to DCH.

 

Hillcrest High School Health Care Science students helped with the various stations within the clinic. They bandaged the "patients" brought into the clinic, took lab work and overall helped ease fears children may have of the hospital.  Katy Wallace, Event Coordinator for DCH, stated the clinic would not have been as successful without the help from the Hillcrest students.

 

"The Teddy Bear and Doll Clinic was a huge success thanks to the wonderful help these students provided," Wallace said. "Their energy and smiles really made the children feel welcome."

 

The first graders were not the only ones to benefit from the project. Pam Crawford, Health Science teacher at Hillcrest, said the high school students have a lot to gain from this experience. "These students recognize that they play a role in setting a good example for children. Knowing that you are doing something that will bring a smile to a child's face is very fulfilling."

Third grade students from Myrtlewood Elementary school recently had an opportunity to support their Adopt-A-School partner.  Tommy Cleary, manager for the Tuscaloosa By-Pass LLC and Adopt-A-School Coordinator for the Myrtlewood partnership, had surgery and the third grade students took the opportunity to share their appreciation and get well wishes with Mr. Cleary.  The students brightened his day with their personalized "get well cards" and Myrtlewood t-shirt. 

McGiffert and Associates, LLC recently renewed their Sustainer commitment to the Adopt-A-School Program.  Currently a Board Level Sponsor, McGiffert and Associates are proud to continue as long time supporters of the Adopt-A-School program.

 

McGiffert and Associates, LLC is a general civil engineering firm with land surveying services.  The firm offers experience and expertise to manage projects from conception through construction and start-up/occupancy.

 

Even though many projects are managed totally by the firm, such as water, sewer and street construction, McGiffert and Associates is often a team player of a project, supporting architects, construction managers and other design professionals.  The firm and individuals are licensed to provide engineering and surveying services in the State of Alabama and individuals are licensed in Mississippi. 

 

McGiffert and Associates has deep roots in the Tuscaloosa community.  Upon returning from World War II, David G. McGiffert and Thomas H. Nicol established the engineering firm of Nicol and McGiffert in 1949, Tuscaloosa's first civil engineering firm. Mr. W. H. Nicol, Thomas Nicol's father and a civil engineer, mentored the two young engineers.

In 1959, Mr. Nicol left the firm to pursue land development interests and the firm was renamed McGiffert Engineering Company. McGiffert Engineering Company continued to provide civil engineering and surveying services to Tuscaloosa and West Alabama. The company was reorganized in 1965 and became McGiffert & Associates, Inc.

Upon graduation from The University of Alabama with engineering degrees, sons of David G. McGiffert, W. David McGiffert and R. Allen McGiffert, joined the firm in 1974 and 1982 respectively. They became active participants in management of the firm and obtained ownership control of the firm in 1991.

On November 1, 2001 McGiffert and Associates, Inc. reorganized to McGiffert and Associates, LLC with Michael W. Gardner and Darrell A. Hobson becoming shareholders along with David and Allen McGiffert. In 2005, James L. Duncan, Jr. and Jason L. Coker were welcomed as shareholders.  At present, the firm has 43 full-time employees consisting of engineers, surveyors, computer CADD technicians, construction technicians and clerical workers.  Visit www.mcgiffert.com for additional information.

Nucor Steel Tuscaloosa
Adopt A School Golf Tournament
Thursday, September 25, 2008

Tuscaloosa Country Club

Four Man Scramble
AM & PM Flights