A central pillar of our Island community is a shared commitment to enabling our youth to reach their full potential. Together, we have invested in and built one of the best K-12 educational experiences in the country, which helps nurture and grow truly outstanding humans who leave our Island to make the world a better place.

Mercer Island’s commitment takes many forms from many sources that come together to produce the special conditions for our school system to flourish and impact lives so positively.

This spring, at the Mercer Island Schools Foundation’s annual Breakfast of Champions, the Mercer Island School District introduced the first distinguished alumni class, called Pathfinders.

The four outstanding winners represent the Island’s best and brightest, embracing service, leadership and creativity to better their local and global communities. These pathfinders not only inspire and challenge our youth to embrace their own potential, but additionally challenge all members of the Mercer Island community to continue to invest in our central community mission of education.

As the school year winds down towards the lazy days of summer, the MI Schools Foundation’s annual BRIDGE | 2016 campaign enters the final stretch.

So far, we have raised over $617,000 towards our goal of $1.2 millon. For all of the individuals, families, teachers, administration, PTA volunteers, organizations and local businesses that have participated, I thank you so much for your generous and continued support. We are only half way to goal, however, so I challenge all Islanders, whether you have school-aged children or not, to please support the BRIDGE campaign and invest in changing the world through our youth.

Your donations, big or small, to the Foundation provide the needed leverage to make our schools the best in Washington state. Our school district boldly laid out the 2020 Vision for our students to prepare them for the cognitive, global and digital world. Your donations support this vision through smaller teacher-to-student class size ratios, personalized learning support, additional class periods and a 360-degree curriculum that encompasses literacy, science, technology, mathematics, global awareness and citizenship, the arts and athletics.

On June 8, the school community is rallying around Donation Day, where we can all celebrate our schools and invest in the future. For the first time, the Foundation is embracing a Text-to-Give program, where you can text “MERCER” to 71760, and make your donation.

Whether by phone, website or mail, please join me and the rest of our community in supporting our students so that they can become the future leaders, poets, artists, scientists and innovators that move mankind forward. Your local, strategic investment will have impact across the globe for decades to come.

How to help

Donations accepted by mail: PO Box 1243, Mercer Island, WA 98040

Or Text-to-Give by texting MERCER to 71760

Or online: mercerislandschoolsfoundation.com/donate

Cliff Sharples is the president of the Mercer Island Schools Foundation and a resident of Mercer Island.