Congratulations to Joliet Grade Schools Foundation for Educational Excellence on your 20th Anniversary! Since 2004, the Foundation has awarded over $500,000 in student scholarships and classroom grants to benefit Joliet Public Schools District 86 students.
The Foundation hosted a 20th Anniversary Raffle to celebrate the milestone and draw the winning tickets during the Joliet Slammers Education Day game on May 22, 2024 in front of hundreds of students attending the event, including students from Gompers Junior High, Thomas Jefferson Elementary, Taft Elementary, and Washington Junior High Schools.
The Foundation held its first fundraiser at the same stadium in 2003 when the team was known as the Joliet Jackhammers. The Foundation hosted a “Take Me Out to the Ballgame” Fantasy Baseball event with former major league baseball players Fergie Jenkins, Jay Johnstone, Milt Pappas, Lee Smith, and Steve Trout.
The Joliet Grade Schools Foundation 20th Anniversary Raffle raised more than $30,000 thanks in part to sponsors that included ExxonMobil, Nicholas & Associates, Inc., Old National Bank, Bill & Margaret Benoit, Precision Control Systems, Inc., Sharon Asher, Brown & Brown, Inc., Cintas Corporation, Excel Orthodontics, Raymond James, Rival5 Technologies Corporation, Teacher Created Materials, Inc., Curriculum Associates, Grand Prairie Transit, ITR Systems, K12 Insight, Renaissance, Amber Mechanical Contractors, and Fast Printing of Joliet.
“I cannot thank the sponsors and our board members enough for supporting this event,” said Joliet Grade Schools Foundation President Bob Diedrich, “As a former District 86 graduate, it’s heartwarming to be able to give back to support the students.”