The Pine Bluff Educational Endowment Inc. presented a $500,000 grant to Simmons First Foundation at Simmons Bank on Wednesday morning to benefit senior high school students in Jefferson County.
The endowment’s board president Mac Bellingrath presented the check to Mary Pringos of the Simmons First Foundation stating that the foundation aims to improve the lives of children through programs that enhance education and health care. The money has its roots in an educational effort that goes back several years.
The educational endowment is a nonprofit organization in Pine Bluff made up of civic group leaders who partnered with St. Joseph Catholic Church to develop a Catholic high school.
“There was a groundswell of parents with school-aged children as well as a feeling amongst the town business leadership that the availability of private K-12 education wasn’t working to the community’s economic development interest,” said Bellingrath. “Simultaneously, there was an interest in St. Joseph Catholic Church in developing a Catholic high school. It was in this environment the idea of a civic Catholic partnership began to take form.”
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In 1999 fundraising began to provide a private school for the community.
“More than enough money was raised to pay for the 30-acre site,” said Bellingrath, who said the Catholics also raised enough money to endow the operations of the school. “We would not be here today if it were not for the people who gave the money,” he said.
The land was acquired for the school on West 73rd Avenue and groundbreaking was in October 1999. The school was operated by St. Joseph Catholic for 10 years. Ridgway Christian School leased the property for another 10 years after St. Joseph Catholic no longer found it feasible to operate.
Southeast Arkansas Preparatory High School, a charter school, became a tenant on July 1, 2018, and in 2020 entered into a management agreement with Friendship Education Foundation. The property recently sold in June to Friendship Education Foundation, which took over the full operation of the campus at 1501 West 73rd Ave.
With the educational dissolving, the board wanted to dedicate the entirety of its remaining assets after dissolution costs to support local students. Bellingrath said, “the directors want to keep within their original mission; thus want to enhance the educational experience of local senior high school students.”
Bellingrath added that when the board began to look for a successor, he was seeking an organization that had the same power flexibility, the professional management, and the inspiration to see that local students would benefit meaningfully year after year and decade after decade.
“There was one organization that rose to the top in our thinking and that was the Simmons First Foundation,” he said.
The Simmons First Foundation was established in 2013 to help Simmons Bank give back to the communities that have been so vital to its continuing growth and success. Former Simmons Bank CEO Tommy May heads the foundation and, along with Mary Pringos, a former Simmons Bank director, guides it in its mission to build stronger and more vibrant communities for the future.
“As a member of the Simmons First Foundation Board, I’m pleased to accept this most generous gift and hopefully can surpass your expectations and be good stewards of your investment,” said Pringos as she accepted the check.
Pringos said the $500,000 grant will be invested by Simmons First Foundation and the earnings on the investment will be used by The Generator. The Generator is an innovation hub powered by Go Forward Pine Bluff, and it is one of the economic development initiatives of the Go Forward plan.
The purpose of The Generator is to increase economic growth through programs, partnerships and technology. The Generator also aims to empower makers, dreamers and doers that generate a thriving and inclusive community by providing space, tools and programs to encourage innovation and entrepreneurship.
“It was important to us to identify a first recipient to share with the Pine Bluff Education Endowment Board early in our communications to make sure we were capturing their intent,” said Pringos. “One of the initiatives in the Go Forward plan is to establish an innovation hub to encourage innovation, entrepreneurship and generate economic growth. Our Hub, called The Generator, will have a number of activities and training for high school students.”
Mildred Franco, the executive director of The Generator, was delighted as she gave an overview of what the funds would cover. Franco said the proceeds would honor the wishes of the endowment by providing opportunities for local students that are not provided in schools.
“At The Generator, we are very excited with the opportunity to present programming to equip high school students with the skills necessary to compete in the 21st century,” said Franco. “We are planning to work with a cohort of 10 to 15 students at a time during the school semester and the summer.”
The program will also aim to orient students with the skills necessary to compete in the 21st century in coding, STEM, and explore entrepreneurship. Student-led community-based projects will allow students to receive hands-on training on digital skills and better themselves through service earning projects.
Students will actively engage with expert facilitators and be exposed to digital tools and resources that are used in professional work daily. Students will get a chance to speak with subject matter experts and tour innovative spaces to learn about the careers that lie ahead. In addition, students will have a chance to explore what is involved in creating a business and what it means to be an entrepreneur. Design, coding, production, graphic design, digital marketing and web design are some of the programs offered.
At the same time, students will work on confidence building; communication skills; decision-making skills; setting, achieving goals; and resolving conflicts and problem-solving, Franco said.
Wanting to start the program soon, Franco said that because of covid-19 and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention guidelines, she is not sure when it will be feasible to do so. Virtual programming is a possibility, she said, adding that she will be consulting with superintendents and high school principals to decide what is best for the students.
The endowment board members in attendance said they were pleased with the direction in which the funds would be used and were excited about the educational future of the community youth.
The board of directors along with Bellingrath include Ted Drake, secretary, Bill Jones, Lisa Kosmitis, John Lytle, George Makris, Chuck Morgan, Lou Taylor and Chuck Tlapek. Past directors involved were Penny Bell, who served until her death; Tom Harbuck, who served until his relocation; and Scott McGeorge, who served until his retirement.
“The (Simmons First) foundation aims to improve the lives of children through programs that enhance education and health care,” said Bellingrath. “The foundation has also provided the seed money for “Go Forward Pine Bluff,” a community renewal program that focuses on economic development, infrastructure and government, education and quality of life.”