Giving Back with Laguna Beach SchoolPower

I don’t talk about it a lot any more, and I am not sure why, but a huge part of owning my own company for me is being able to give back to my community. I have lots of charities that I am passionate about supporting, but today I just want to highlight one of my favorites, that is in my own backyard, School Power.

Who is SchoolPower? The oldest, non-profit education foundation in Orange County, SchoolPower has raised money for Laguna Beach public schools since 1981. The money raised by SchoolPower provides the four Laguna Beach public schools—El Morro Elementary, Top of the World Elementary, Thurston Middle School and Laguna Beach High School—with valued educational programs and resources. A percentage of the annual money raised also sustains the SchoolPower Endowment Foundation, which in turn supports the Teacher Grant Program and Large Endowment Grants. Examples of programs currently receiving funding from SchoolPower and SchoolPower Endowment are: K-3 class size reduction, performing/visual arts at the middle and high school, an additional high school counselor, an extra period for electives at the middle school, K-8 music, the foreign language program, district-wide advancements in wireless infrastructure and educational technology, an expansion of the strings program and high school athletics.

Why is this program near and dear to my heart?  Well of course my kids benefit from the generosity of the community, but also, I feel the arts are so important for kids.  My love for photography began in high school and it would be such a shame if the kids in my community did not get the same opportunities to develop their own passion for the arts, music and theater.  Laguna Beach High School has amazing access to all of the arts, technology, athletics and foreign language programs.  Many of my current clients know I rave about the school district and feel that our kids get access to the same curriculum as many of the top private schools.

As part of giving back to SchoolPower I volunteer my time throughout the year to provide photography services to SchoolPower.  Last weekend it was for an amazing fundraiser at The Montage Laguna Beach.  All involved in putting on the event did a fantastic job.  Not only did they raise an amazing amount of money for our schools, but the event was stunning and tons of fun.  For anyone that wants to download images from the event, please click on this link: https://www.dropbox.com/sh/7jbh0rrl4722enn/AACjRalFLNRBYr2dVVNQlMg7a?dl=0  The images are free of charge, but we do request if you use them on social media or in print that you credit or tag Blue Sky’s Studio (@blueskysstudio).

Here is a link to a slideshow highlighting the event.  Enjoy!