The Education Foundation-Osceola County indeed has accomplished much over the last 25 years, with its college scholarships, mentoring and tutoring programs, funding of teachers' higher educations or classroom projects and its providing of school supplies to low-income and homeless schoolchildren. Kudos to all those involved in directing the foundation and its many activities.

Plus, the foundation – with financial help from the School District and labor and material from seven area companies – will soon move into a new facility a short distance away from its current home. The new facility will also house an art gallery of foundation founder Tommy Tompkins' photographs of children from around the world.

Since 1995, the foundation has awarded about $2.3 million in college scholarships to graduating Osceola County high school students, put students in contact with more than $1 million in available scholarships and now has $3.5 million in its own endowment fund for college scholarships. That is quite an accomplishment and we offer thanks to the foundation and to the community that supports it in good times and bad.

From free supplies for teachers to backpack giveaways, new school uniforms and accessories to low-income and homeless students, the foundation indeed keeps its hands in all facets of education. We haven’t always agreed with the foundation in terms of projects it has supported – workforce housing, as one of the few examples where we did not see eye to eye – but when all things are considered, we have mostly praise to offer.

The foundation’s most recent undertaking, the Kids Closet, is a partnership between Osceola County School Board member Cindy Hartig and the foundation. To be housed in the current foundation building, Kids Closet will allow social workers to “shop” for underprivileged children in need of clothing, belts, coats and undergarments. That certainly is needed in this economic environment.

As Marcie Hill, program coordinator for the foundation-sponsored Design And Go Studio, said, all the money raised by and for the foundation “goes back to the kids.” Indeed, as Hill also said, the foundation does truly touch the lives of our children on many levels and in many ways.