Last Updated on September 4, 2024 by Luke Feldbrugge

The Homes for Heroes Foundation awarded the Canyons Education Foundation of the Canyons School District in Utah a $5,000 grant. This grant will be used to fund a classroom innovation program, and provide an education scholarship for those who wish to become a teacher.

Canyons Education Foundation Check Presentation with Jay Flynn

The grant check presentation interview was conducted by Homes for Heroes Foundation Director, Jay Flynn. Attending the interview was local Homes for Heroes Real Estate Specialist, Katie Lowder, of Katie Lowder Real Estate; Denise Haycock, Development Officer for Canyons Education Foundation, and Maxwell Eddington, Middle School Teacher for the Canyons School District.

They spoke about what the Canyons Education Foundation does to support Canyons School District teachers; and how the Homes for Heroes Foundation grant will specifically go toward funding classroom innovation and offering teachers much needed resources. Plus, a scholarship to help an individual pursue an education path to becoming a teacher.

You can watch the full interview or read about it below.

Jay: Hello, and thanks for joining us today. I’m Jay Flynn, Director of the Homes for Heroes Foundation.

I’m joined today by Denise Haycock, Canyons Education Foundation Development Officer. Maxwell Eddington, one of our hero middle school math teachers. And, Katie Lowder, Homes for Heroes real estate specialist, at Katie Lowder Real Estate.

It is my honor to be with all of you today.

Denise and Maxwell, as part of the Homes for Heroes Circle of Giving, the Homes for Heroes Foundation provides grants to nonprofits whose mission is to help our heroes. Katie and I are so honored to present this $5,000 Homes for Heroes Foundation grant to the Canyons Education Foundation.

Let’s take a few minutes and talk about Canyons Education Foundation. Denise, tell us how the foundation got its start and what it’s all about.

Denise: Well, Canyon School District started in 2009. We were a new school district, and the first school district added in Utah in 100 years. So we’ve been around a short while.

Once the school district was established, they realized they needed a foundation to go with it. So the foundation’s whole purpose is to support Canyon School District. And, our mission statement is to enhance the education of students and teachers in Canyon School District. It is a very simple mission statement, but that’s what we do.

Jay: That’s awesome. Katie, being a big supporter of heroes as a Home for Heroes real estate specialist, why does this group mean so much to you?

Katie: My kids have all attended the Canyon School District. My son really struggled in school. He really didn’t want to be there, and almost did not graduate. But, his teachers and the counselors at the high school got him through.

That’s why teachers have a big place in my heart. We give our children to our teachers for 7-8 hours per day, Monday- Friday; and they guide, support and love our kids. So teachers have a big place in my heart, and I just love this foundation because it gives so much back to our community.

Jay: That’s awesome. You’re 100% right. Teachers are there for our kids, and they can make such a difference in people’s lives. And you know, Max, thank you. Thank you for everything you’re doing.

So Denise, let’s talk about this $5,000 Homes for Heroes Foundation grant. How do you plan to use the funds to support teachers?

Denise: This is the fun part for me because I also give away big checks. That’s part of my job.

One of the things that the foundation does is we do innovation grants. We ask our teachers to think outside the box to come up with great ideas that could make learning fun for their students. And we give anywhere between $1-$10,000 to a teacher to bring forward a great idea.

For example, for fourth graders, we brought in fish eggs so the kids could watch them grow into fish. We’ve done adaptive bicycles for special education students. There are also ideas with musical instruments and/or science projects.

Teachers submit idea applications and our board goes through them to select which teachers will receive funds for their innovative idea. It is a lot of fun. So, some of this money will be used to help fund innovation in the classroom.

We also award exceptional teachers like Max with awards, for our Teacher of the Year. Every school in our district and for every program (50 of them), we recognize top teachers at every school and give them a $250 gift card. Plus, we give them a basket of fun goodies.

For elementary, middle and high school, we have one top teacher that gets an additional $500. Then our District Teacher of the Year gets an additional $500. For example, Max was the Middle School Teacher of the Year, the District Teacher of the Year, and he is our runner up for the State Teacher of the Year.

It’s just a great way for us to give back to our teachers.

And one last thing we do for our teachers is called an Ace Scholarship. This is intended for aspiring Canyons educators. Where we’re looking at all of our employees, whether they’re parent educators, teacher assistants, work in maintenance, or they’re a secretary; these individuals aspire to be a teacher. And, we want to help fund their education. So it’s our employees giving back to help employees of Canyons become teachers.

At the Canyons School District and the Canyons Education Foundation, we try our best to let our teachers know how much we appreciate them and what they do in the classroom.

Jay: Wow. That’s awesome. So Max, we just heard all the great ways that the Canyons Education Foundation plans to use these funds. Tell us a little bit about how the Canyons Education Foundation made a difference for you as a teacher, and how it may make a difference for you in the future.

Maxwell: Being recognized as a teacher always feels great, but it’s often not associated with the dollar sign, or getting actual money to spend on resources for the classroom.

It takes money to get the resources we need to innovate for our students, to give them the best education that we can. To make children like yours want to come to school, and want to learn, and be around other students and teachers.

So when I got these awards for Teacher of the Year for my school, and then as a finalist in the district, that money goes a long way to provide the resources I need to fuel the ideas I have for the classroom.

So, yeah, I plan to apply for an innovation grant to deck out my entire classroom with rollable whiteboards for students; double sided so we can collaborate. There’s technology that I’d like to invest in for my classroom. And if it weren’t for a foundation like this, it would be very difficult to find the resources.

Jay: Absolutely. Because otherwise, you may need to pay for these resources out of your own pocket, right? Taking away from your ability to support life outside of work.

Maxwell: Yeah. And every teacher is familiar with that scenario at some point or another.

Denise: We try to tell them (award winning teachers), “use this $500 for yourself.” You know, take a little vacation, or do something nice for yourself. And I bet 90% of the time it goes back into the classroom.

Jay: Yeah, that’s just the way teachers are.

So, Denise, we’ve heard about the huge impact that you are making. If people want to learn more about Canyons Education Foundation or to get involved in the mission, where can they go to find more information?

Denise: Well, they can always go to the Canyons District website, where they can find out about all we’re doing in Canyons School District. They can also go to the foundation’s website where they can donate to any number of things we are a part of.

Jay: That’s awesome. You are doing such great work.

Katie, you’re doing great work too, taking care of our heroes as a Homes for Heroes real estate specialist.

Thank you all for taking time to join me today and for everything you are doing. For those tuning in, thank you for taking time to hear more about the Canyons Education Foundation and its mission of service.

I hope everyone has a great rest of your day and remember to take a minute to thank a hero today.

Homes for Heroes Circle of Giving

Grants from the Homes for Heroes Foundation are made possible by the Homes for Heroes Circle of Giving and its network of real estate and mortgage professionals. Homes for Heroes, Inc. is committed to providing savings to community heroes; such as firefighters, EMS, law enforcement, military (active duty, reserves and veterans), healthcare professionals and teachers.

To expand its Circle of Giving, Homes for Heroes, Inc., donates a portion of its earnings to the Homes for Heroes Foundation. So, every time a hero buys or sells a home using the Homes for Heroes program, they are helping other heroes across the country facing a housing crisis or who are in need of urgent financial assistance.

If you are interested in learning more about how Homes for Heroes can guide you through the home buying, selling or refinancing process AND save you an average of $3,000 after closing on a home with one of their local specialists, simply sign up to speak with a member of the team. They will follow up with you to answer all of your questions. When you tell them you’re feeling ready to speak with their local specialists in your area about home buying, selling, or refinancing your mortgage, they will connect you with their local specialists to begin the process.

Simply visit the Homes for Heroes Foundation page if you’re interested in learning more about where it has awarded recent grants to hero organizations throughout the country, how much they’ve awarded to date, and how it all works.

If you’re interested in supporting and donating to the Homes for Heroes Foundation to assist heroes in need, please visit their donation page to submit your contribution via PayPal. And, thank you for your interest and support.