March 10, 2023

Spring has sprung, and we hope you’ve been able to enjoy some warmer temperatures and the start of flower season.

Speaking of things popping up, we’ve got a lot of things going on with the Foundation that we’d like to share.

Meet Michele Pizzo

You’ll be seeing a lot of Michele Pizzo on our social media outlets.

Michele was a 2019-20 Michigan Regional Teacher of the Year and is a 30-year veteran of the Detroit Public Schools Community District. She spent most of those years at Davison Elementary-Middle School in a variety of roles.

One of her biggest achievements was serving as lead coordinating teacher for the district’s Parent Teacher Home Visit Program, which helps build a better connection with families, especially among immigrant groups.

She was also one of the teaching stars featured in a documentary we produced: “The LifeChangers: A Tale of Two Educators.”

She’s been promoting our grant opportunities so far this year, but we’ve got more in store that we hope to reveal soon.

Thank You, Teachers!

Teacher Appreciation Week is just around the corner, and we’d like to give a special shout-out to the 2022-23 Michigan Regional Teachers of the Year.

Nanette Hanson (the Michigan Teacher of the Year), Kathryn Lamberies, Bill Boerman, Dawn Perez, Karen Sleno, Ashleigh Lore, Dustin Sayers, Stacy Trosin, Jennifer Sepetys and Carl Brownlee have shown that they are truly committed to their students and profession.

On top of their teaching duties, they’ve been serving on the Michigan Teacher Leadership Advisory Council. The mission of the MTLAC is to bring the teacher voice to a wider audience, including direct work with the Michigan Department of Education to provide input on proposed policies and initiatives, and to help to share valuable information and resources with teacher colleagues in their respective regions.

You also can read their monthly blog posts, with lots of insights, tips and teaching passion, at MeemicFoundation.org/Blog.

Grant Opportunities

We’ve got two great grants going now that provide fun ways to celebrate teachers.

This month’s PopIn2Win prize is a real treat: a Celebration-size tin of Garrett Popcorn and a set of Yoga Pretzels activity cards for your teachers’ lounge!* Enter to win by April 30, 2023. Visit MeemicFoundation.org/PopIn2Win for more details and to enter.

Our quarterly grant is a great way to kick off the next school year. The Meemic Foundation will provide 100 schools with a check for $1,000 to use to celebrate and motivate their staff for the new 2023-24 school year!** From primary and secondary schools to colleges and universities, we want to ensure that schools have the resources to bring excitement to the new school year. Entries due by June 30, 2023. Visit MeemicFoundation.org/Kickoff to enter.

Save the Date(s)!

Lots of great activities are coming up for your calendar:

May 5: We’re partnering again with Defeat the Label to present Stand4Change Day. We will stand together with students and schools across the world (over 6.3 million participated last year!) against bullying. Enroll your school or class to take a stand for kindness. Find out more at DefeattheLabel.com/Stand4Change.

Aug. 1: We know you golfers are already thinking about those greens if you haven’t hit the links already. The seventh annual Fore! Education Meemic Foundation Golf Club Outing will be back at the beautiful Indianwood Golf & Country Club in Lake Orion, MI. For non-golfers, Painting With a Twist will return to help you create some frameable artwork. Sponsorship opportunities are open now, from individual holes to various specialty title sponsorships. Contact Foundation Director Pam Harlin at Pam.Harlin@Meemic.com for more information. Watch MeemicFoundation.org/Fore for more info.

Aug. 12: Join us at Meemic headquarters in Auburn Hills, MI, for the return of our Teacher Swap. It’s a great opportunity for teachers to trade, sell or buy gently used classroom materials. The event will be free to attend, and we’ll soon be opening registration for free tables. We’re also working on some other fun activities. Keep an eye out at Facebook.com/MeemicFoundation for more details.

*No purchase necessary. For complete terms and conditions, visit MeemicFoundation.org/PopInTerms.
**No purchase necessary. For complete terms and conditions, visit MeemicFoundation.org/KickOffTerms.