When he’s not helping our GreenStone members with financial solutions for their dreams, Kyle Wright volunteers his time to support his local school district. Kyle, a financial services officer who provides financing for country living in Ingham County, serves the students in his community by being a board member of the Mason Public School Foundation. He has been a board member since 2020 and has also brought the sponsorship of GreenStone to the Foundation.
The Mason Public School Foundation was established to raise money from the community to help fill the funding gaps the school district may not necessarily get from the county or state. For example, through a partnership with the Mason Public School Foundation and the Dart Foundation, chrome books were purchased for the entire school district. This purchase totaled over $100,000 and put the students of Mason Public Schools at a huge advantage when COVID-19 arose and remote learning was necessary. The raised funds also go to special education, radios for better communication at elementary schools, conflict resolution training, developing a robotics program, restocking the library, and many other items the schools in Mason may need.
Kyle uses his network to support the Foundation. “A lot of what I do is network in the community. One primary way I can help being on the board is to use my large network of connections and try to leverage those relationships to get donations and attract people to come to our events. Even just talking to people in my subdivision or people that I know around Mason is a huge help,” Kyle explained.
The Foundation has two big events each year, a 5k race and a Gala, the latter of which is the biggest fundraiser for the Foundation. The 2022 Red Carpet Gala was held Saturday, April 23 and is a formal event complete with dinner, silent and live auctions, raffles, presentations, awards, and plenty of socializing among community members.
A group of Gala attendees - Kyle Wright pictured in the back left
This year GreenStone sponsored one of the live auction packages, a family 4-day trip to Washington, DC, which generated $2,200 for the Foundation. That, along with several other sponsorships, and bids and donations from the 180 community members in attendance, raised about $75,000 for Mason Public Schools on that one glamorous night!
By raising money and supporting the public schools, Kyle is also improving other aspects of the community. A good public school system means higher resale value for the houses in the community, and it brings a sense of pride to everyone involved.
GreenStone strongly encourages employees to be an asset to our communities through volunteer work. Kyle is a notable example of someone who exemplifies GreenStone's four core values, particularly “get involved.” Kyle’s favorite part of being on the board is hearing how the funds are used by the schools and the impact these funds have on the students.
“The best part is hearing from the principals or teachers. For example, the special education teacher made a presentation about all the books and things that they can get specifically made to help special education students, and that’s possible because of the support of the community,” said Kyle.
To learn more about the Mason Public School Foundation and future events, visit Mason Public Schools Foundation.
