Geneseo Foundation Activity Center improved and enhanced through grants

July 13, 2022

When the doors to the Geneseo Foundation Activity Center (GFAC) opened in 2004, the facility immediately benefitted Geneseo High School, its students and staff, its teams, and the local community.

While the facility itself was brand new, however, some of the equipment was outdated, having been brought over from the previous weight room. Over the years, dumbbells, bars and racks were purchased, but there was abundant space to accommodate additional items.

Todd Ehlert (above), who has spent 18 years teaching and coaching in the district, made it among his missions to provide the GFAC with a variety of new equipment.

“In the GFAC’s early days, there just wasn’t enough money allocated for equipment and budgets were stretched thin,” explains Ehlert, who coaches the high school boys’ cross country team, oversees the middle school’s boys’ track teams, and teaches physical education and wellness classes. “When I was moved from the middle school to the high school in 2018, I started writing grants. The first couple I wrote were to get new boxes for box jumping, but several others have followed.”

Indeed, throughout Ehlert’s tenure, he’s raised approximately $250,000 in funds through grants, including $175,000 in the last four years alone.

The process has worked for Ehlert time and time again: He identifies a need, makes his case, puts it in writing, and submits the request to a local foundation.

The Geneseo Foundation donated $400,000 of the $2.1 million needed for the facility’s construction, while over 300 families, businesses and other local organizations helped account for the rest of the funds.

Over the years, the Geneseo Foundation has continued to provide support, and the Geneseo Education Foundation, Geneseo Communications Charitable Foundation, the Francis G. and Betty J. Miller Foundation, the PTA, and booster clubs that support different GHS athletic teams, have also made significant contributions. The funds have allowed the GFAC to be filled with new benches, weights, bars, treadmills, 75-inch touchscreen TVs and racks.

“We are very fortunate to live in a student-centered community,” notes former GHS principal Travis Mackey. “The Geneseo Foundation Activity Center has impacted thousands of people over the years and with the help of people like Todd Ehlert, it will continue to make an impact on young people for years to come. For a school our size to have a facility like this is remarkable.”

“The transformation of the building has given the students and staff at GHS, as well as others throughout the community, access to a wonderful facility where they can prioritize their health and wellness,” adds Ehlert. “For those on athletic teams, students can work on getting bigger, stronger and faster. Others can focus on injury prevention or get back into shape after getting hurt.”

On most days, particularly those during the school year, the GFAC is in constant use. Gym classes begin at 6:45 am and last until 3 pm, then sports teams and other extracurriculars take over the facility until 9 pm. It’s not just GHS students, either, as youth programs and Hammond-Henry Rehab Department’s Summit performance enhancement program also use the building.

“The results are there,” states Ehlert. “The list of incredible athletes who have trained in this building is only getting longer—it’s people like Will Daniels, who competed in the Olympic trials last year, and Drew Himmelman, who has spent time with the NFL teams in Denver and Washington, just to name a few former athletes.  We also have several athletes who graduated this year and will be competing at the Division I level.”

To further improve what is offered in the building, GHS in conjunction with Hammond-Henry Hospital recently hired a full-time strength and conditioning coach. Angelo James started in June and will work with the athletic teams and students in physical education and wellness classes.

“Angelo has an incredible background,” states Ehlert. “He’s worked with the NFL, colleges, the military and the private sector. He’s got a great personality and he’s going to make it special for the kids. Angelo is big into form and technique—posture over everything is what he says.”

As for what’s to come at the GFAC, Ehlert plans on continuing to seek out ways to improve the facility.

“There’s additional space in the weight room that we need to fill, and Angelo will have ideas to offer,” Ehlert explains. “I’ve got ideas for more grants, and we’ll keep upgrading the facility as best as we can. We want to have a nutrition bar for when kids are done with their wellness. That will help ensure that kids develop better habits and eat healthier.”

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GHS students and staff dedicate a day to the community

At Rebuilding Together in Atkinson, students worked together to help assemble much-needed wheelchair ramps.

May 19, 2022

As the school year comes to an end, students and staff at Geneseo High School took a break from their regular routines and dedicated a morning to the local community.

On May 12, the entire GHS student body participated in a variety of projects, both on and off campus, that were designed to assist, enhance and improve the areas in which they worked.

Students were provided with a list of opportunities and given the ability to select how they wanted to participate.

“It was a great day and a very valuable experience for the students,” notes Brooke Emmerson, Assistant Principal at Geneseo High School. “Not only were they able to give back to the community, but they also learned about different organizations in town and the ways they can make a positive contribution.”

Cleaning up around the high school was a common theme, with groups dedicated to areas including Bob Reade Field—moving track equipment into storage with graduation this weekend—the greenhouse, classrooms, the shop, and a kitchen space dedicated to family and consumer science. There was also an art project that took place in the cafeteria.

“We had a great turnout at the high school for those students that stayed on campus,” states Jeremy Mosier, Assistant Principal at Geneseo High School. “Students were able to assist our track and field teams with moving equipment, organizing the equipment in the GFAC, and helping teachers that needed assistance in their classrooms. The tug of war event brought a lot of enthusiasm and the kids had fun competing.”

Other students and staff ventured off campus, where they visited the aquatic center at the Community Center, baseball and softball fields at Stone Field and Edwards Field, respectively, and Inspire Continuing Care.

Emmerson accompanied a group to Atkinson’s Rebuilding Together, where students learned about the organization and how it serves Henry County, as well as some of the medical equipment patients rely on. They then worked to assemble much-needed wheelchair ramps.

“It was definitely a morning well spent,” says Emmerson. “Giving the students a chance to choose the project they worked on made them even more engaged and motivated. It was an educational experience for all, and the students’ efforts made a real difference. We can all feel good about that.”

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Pajama Program turns good nights into good days

Getting a good night’s sleep comes with many benefits, and most health experts agree it is as important as a healthy diet and regular exercise.

For students, a comfortable and restful night of sleep often enables them to thrive the following day.

It’s with that in mind that a trio of Millikin Elementary School teachers—Mrs. Elizabeth George, Mrs. Lyndsey Shehorn and Miss Dana Storm—rallied their fourth graders to participate in raising pajamas for the 12th Annual Great Bedtime Story Pajama Drive.

Their students came through in a big way, collecting 156 pairs of pajamas, a 55% increase from the 2018-19 total of 101.

“It breaks my heart as a mother, a teacher and a human that not every child is promised a safe, loving and established bedtime routine,” said Mrs. Shehorn. “When I first learned about the pajama drive, I knew I wanted to get involved because it’s everything I am passionate about when it comes to kids.

“There is also a learning and growth opportunity for our students through this drive,” noted Mrs. Shehorn, who hopes to make the pajama drive a school-wide initiative next year.

“Children develop and thrive on stability, safety, comfort and literature, shared with a loving adult,” Mrs. Shehorn continued. “It makes my heart so happy knowing our students, their families and our community members helped in providing others with some support for a good night, for a good day.”

For every pair of pajamas donated, Scholastic Book Clubs will donate a new book to the Pajama Program, a national 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization that promotes and supports a comforting bedtime routine and healthy sleep for children. As a partner of Millikin’s for the Pajama Program, Bethany for Children and Families in the Quad Cities will help provide 156 recipients with pajamas and a book.

Through the annual pajama drive, classrooms across America have collected and donated more than 850,000 pajamas since 2009. Scholastic Book Clubs has more than matched those numbers with a donation of more than 1.25 million books during that same period.

None of it would be possible without efforts like the one at Millikin. The Pajama Program relies on a national network of volunteers, donors and partnerships with 4,000 community-based organizations across the United States, including Puerto Rico, to achieve its mission.

“There is also a learning and growth opportunity for our students through this drive,” noted Mrs. Shehorn, who hopes to make the pajama drive a school-wide initiative next year. “They learn that some of the things we take for granted are some of the simple but invaluable components that others are missing in their lives. They realize very quickly that it doesn’t take a lot of money, time or a large initiative to make an impactful difference. These are lessons that just cannot be taught from a lesson plan.”

Millikin sock drive nets 721 pairs for local food pantry

“We don’t get many new socks, so we were very much in need of them,” said Nicole Friedhoff, Assistant Director of the Geneseo-Atkinson Food Pantry. “There is a big need for a lot of items right now, and this really helps our cause.”

With colder weather on the way, families are beginning to dig through their closets for warmer clothing.

However, not all families have everything they need, and when it comes to what we wear, socks are among the least donated items.

Christy Sancken, a second-grade teacher at Millikin Elementary School, took note of this a few years ago and introduced Socktober, a sock drive that takes place during the month of October, to her students.

An initiative created by YouTube personality Kid President, Socktober is now in its fifth year at Millikin. While this year the goal was 300 pairs, students collected 721 pairs that were donated to the Geneseo-Atkinson Food Pantry on Friday.

Students and teachers at Millikin gathered 721 pairs of socks during its fifth annual Socktober, a month-long sock drive that benefits the Geneseo-Atkinson Food Pantry.

“Throughout the month, whenever students would walk by the collection box and signage, they’d see the numbers on the rise and get excited,” said Mrs. Sancken. “They really bought into it and the socks kept coming.”

The sock drive also presented an opportunity for teaching and learning.

“My class helped count the socks and I incorporated that into math lessons with counting by tens and adding big numbers,” Mrs. Sancken explained. “It was very rewarding to see us hit our goal and then far surpass it.”

Nicole Friedhoff, Assistant Director for the Geneseo-Atkinson Food Pantry, was equally appreciative and impressed by the effort.

“I’m amazed at the generosity of the kids and families; it’s overwhelming,” stated Nicole Friedhoff, Assistant Director of the Geneseo-Atkinson Food Pantry. “Whenever we need something, our community comes through for us.”

Mrs. Sancken shared that sentiment and added, “It’s a testament to the families in our area and their willingness to help. It’s an easy thing to do, and it can really make a difference.

“Our district’s motto is to teach, learn and care,” Mrs. Sancken continued. “We didn’t want to put any pressure on the students or families by making it a contest. Not everyone is able to donate. We focused on a simple message—that the socks are needed, and that giving feels good.”