The Oneida Education Foundation Mail-a-thon is underway and is an easy way to support the students, teachers, and schools in Oneida County with tax deductible donations.

The Oneida Education Foundation (OEF) was founded in 1988 to raise funds for Oneida County Schools. The family of William H. and Cecelia D. Rutter donated $20,000 to begin the OEF’s efforts to award grants to teachers and scholarships to graduates of Malad High School.

History of OEF Mail-a-thon

The OEF conducted a telethon for nearly 20 years as its main fundraiser. High school students, primarily National Honor Society members, called all the numbers in the telephone book to get pledges of support from community members.

With so few Oneida County residents having landlines now, the OEF changed to a Mail-a-thon process in 2020. Using the donor lists from past telethons and adding names to that list, OEF continues to have a successful fundraiser.  This year’s Mail-a-thon offers the opportunity again for people to be generous in making tax deductible donations that will benefit students and teachers at all four of Oneida County’s brick-and-mortar schools.

Donations to the OEF qualify donors for the special Idaho education tax deduction. Donors are able to designate where they want their donations to be used. All donors can have the satisfaction of knowing they are assisting their Malad students, teachers, and schools.

Achievements of OEF

The OEF has awarded nearly $300,000 in teacher classroom and curriculum grants since its founding, including $7,568 last year.  Teachers use grants to buy such items as classroom sets of books, music and art supplies and equipment, computer software, PE equipment, maps, science lab equipment, and student rewards through the PBIS and Armored for Excellence programs as well as to fund field trips and co-curricular activities.

From the beginning, the OEF has also funded scholarships for graduates of Malad High School.  From a modest start of two named scholarships (the William H. and Cecelia D. Rutter Memorial Scholarship and the Robert W. Waldron Memorial Science/Math Scholarship), the OEF now has 47 endowed scholarships and three endowed funds for curricula.  In addition, the OEF helps sponsor annual scholarships funded by local businesses.

In 2022 the OEF awarded scholarships totaling $27,000 to 26 MHS graduates. Each scholarship was for a minimum of $800.  Students have three years in which to use the scholarships. Each student must provide proof of registration at an accredited post-secondary college before receiving his or her scholarship check, which is made out to the student and the college.

New Endowments

In the past three years, generous families, businesses, organizations and MHS classes have established several new scholarships, often in the memory of loved ones.  New scholarships include the Mark and Irene Alder Scholarship, the Kambrie Horsley Memorial Scholarship, the Lauri Sue Evans Hubbard Memorial Art Scholarship, the Guy Drew Combs Memorial Scholarship, the James “Maverick” Ward Memorial Scholarship, the Dianne Bowen Pett Memorial Scholarship, the CSS Farms Scholarship, the Stotz Equipment Scholarship, the Oneida County EMS/EMTs Scholarship and the Malad High School Class of 1971 Scholarship.

In addition, friends and former students of longtime Malad Elementary School teacher Lucile Harrison recently established an endowment in her memory to fund classroom supplies and equipment for the upper-level grades at Malad Elementary School.

For a complete list of OEF scholarships and its recent Annual Reports, see www.oneidaschooldistrict.com/oef. Watch for your Mail-a-thon form, and return it with your donation today or use the QR Code enclosed with the form.  If you do not receive a form, just drop off your donation at the OEF mailbox at Malad Elementary School or use the QR Code on the website to make an online donation.