Wilbraham Hampden Academic Trust, Inc. Receives $15,000 Bequest

Gift from Estate of Hampden Resident to Fund Grants

Wilbraham and Hampden, Mass. January 2, 2004—Wilbraham Hampden Academic Trust, Inc. (“w.h.a.t.”) announces that it is the recipient of a $15,000 donation from the estate of Mr. Robert H. Bohlke who was an educator and a resident of Hampden.

“w.h.a.t. is privileged to have received this generous donation from Mr. Bohlke’s estate,” said Susan Alston, Vice President of Fund Raising for the educational foundation. w.h.a.t. will honor the memory of Mr. Bohlke by creating a recurring grant in his name. The Bohlke Grant will be awarded each school year to a deserving project or program that seeks to enrich the educational experience in the social sciences.

The gift from Mr. Bohlke’s estate will be formally recognized in a ceremony on January 13, 2004 pm at Thornton W. Burgess School. That formal presentation will occur during a regularly scheduled School Committee meeting at which the w.h.a.t. Board of Directors will also recognize the recipients of recently awarded w.h.a.t. grants and present a check to HWRSD to fund the projects.

This year’s Bohlke Grant will fund the Artist in Residence program at Thornton W. Burgess School. The program, which will take place over 16 days in the coming semester and culminate in a public performance at the school, is a multidisciplinary project, during which students and teachers will become immersed in the creative process and all aspects of theatrical production. Formed in July by a group of concerned citizens of Hampden and Wilbraham, w.h.a.t. provides funding for innovative and enriching programs in the regional public school system that serves the two communities. w.h.a.t. is administratively and financially separate from the towns and from the regional school district and depends on donations for all of its funding. The gift from Mr. Bohlke’s estate is significant and important, but according to Alston, w.h.a.t. is still very much in need of ongoing contributions from residents and businesses in the Hampden Wilbraham community. “In order to achieve our vision and to support projects and programs in the future, a continuing source of funds is critical,” Alston said.

Educational foundations similar to w.h.a.t. have been formed in numerous communities across the country, including several in the Pioneer Valley, during the past several years. The purpose of such organizations is to raise and distribute funds for the benefit of the schools, but not to supplant the necessary funding that must come from normal budgetary channels. For more information about w.h.a.t. visit the website at www.whatinc.org.

Those interested in making a tax-deductible donation to w.h.a.t. may mail it to P.O. Box 477, Wilbraham, MA 01095-0477.