Gunter's school foundation is asking the community out for dinner and bingo next weekend to raise money for classrooms and graduates.
GIFT, the Gunter ISD Education Foundation, will hold its Round-Up and Bingo at 6 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 10, at 897 Wallace Road. The evening includes dinner, three rounds of bingo, silent and live auctions and prizes, according to the district's October newsletter. Proceeds go to teacher grants and student scholarships.
Tickets are $125 per couple, $75 for one person and $50 for teachers. A table is $850. Tickets are sold online through a link in the newsletter. Pogue Construction is the event sponsor.
What the money pays for
The foundation was formed in 2001 by a small group of residents looking for ways to support the district and its teachers, according to its website. It is a volunteer-run nonprofit funded by private and corporate donations, and its priorities include need- and merit-based scholarships, campus teaching grants, an endowment and professional development for staff.
GIFT says it has awarded more than $500,000 in scholarships and more than $130,000 in grants to Gunter ISD teachers and schools since its start. It also sends 15% of what it raises to the Kerfoot Trust, a scholarship fund for Gunter High School graduates set up by Carl and Gladys Kerfoot in 1975; those gifts total more than $70,000, the foundation says.
