Purchase History

We are so thankful to all our donors, grant-providers, and supporters that have invested their money and/or their time into our organization, the Friends of the North Syracuse Early Education Program.  Have you ever wondered how your money is spent and what enhancements your generous contributions have allowed us to make to the North Syracuse Early Education Program?  We are very excited to share that information with you.

Each year we propose an annual budget that includes funds ($11,500) specifically set aside to provide enhancements to the Main Street community.

• $1,600 – snack program: our contribution specifically covers the weekly fresh fruit offering.
• $2,000 – staff development: classes, presenters, events, materials, or other costs associated with providing staff development opportunities
• $2,000 – building needs: provides for replacement or repair of worn out or damaged items both inside and outside the building.
• $3,600 – wish list: staff members may submit requests for items they feel would be of great use in providing the best educational experience.
• $1,250 – advertising: covers the costs of advertising NSEEP in the Family Times and the cost of having a booth at the Summer Camp Expo at the Fairgrounds.
• $450 – Library World: subscription-based software that keeps the library organized by tracking inventory.
• $600 – SpeedDIAL Record Forms: 10 sets of 50 forms purchased annually to be used for scoring when SpeedDIAL-4 assessment is administered.

Additionally, we set aside $700 annually for the iPad fund which is earmarked to cover costs related to replacement or repair of 14 iPads our organization purchased for the classrooms in December 2016 and the 5 iPads purchased for the Speech Therapy Team in October 2017.

Below is a sizeable, though not exhaustive list of items purchased since Fall 2012

Our Operating Costs:

We set aside $3,600 to operate our own organization for the year.  That figure includes the money necessary to operate our fundraisers (Therapy Ball, Walk-A-Thon, Raffles), as well as day-to-day operations: printing, phone, web hosting, insurance, accounting & filing fees, office supplies, and postage.  Our full amount is rarely spent; any remaining amount is placed into savings.

Our Grant / Large Donation History:

Freedman Trust (2008) $49,200 was given to our organization based on a proposal to remodel the physical therapy room, purchase several thousand dollars in testing materials for evaluations, and provide partial funding for a library. New flooring, large equipment, and smaller accessories were purchased for the physical therapy room. Testing kits were purchased for all therapy departments: speech, occupational, physical, psychology. Shelving, storage, labeling materials, book ends, listening equipment was purchased for the library. The benefits of this money are still seen today in our wonderful Gross Motor Room, in our therapists’ abilities to provide testing as needed/required, and in our school library.

Central New York Community Foundation (2009) $12,300 was given to FNSEEP to supplement the $16,500 in monies remaining from the Freedman Trust to complete the library at Main Street. The money from the Freedman trust provided the physical structures and furniture for the library. While the grant from the CNY Community Foundation provided the funds necessary to purchase materials (books, tapes, videos, listening kits, thematic play kits) for the library and the software and computer hardware necessary to organize and manage it effectively.

In Memory of Joshua Davis donation through the Jewish Community Center (2009) $2,500 was generously donated to our organization’s First Annual Therapy Ball which was jointly run with the PTO that year.  It is now our largest annual fundraiser and an event we eagerly anticipate and work hard towards each year.

Jim and Juli Boeheim Foundation (2012) $10,500 given to Friends of NSEEP to enhance the snack program. Based on research, it was proposed that a healthy eater produces a healthy learner. The snack program at the time, met the USDA guidelines but was constrained by the low budget and available resources.  During the year of the grant, vegetables, whole grains, fruits, and high quality dairy were added to the program.  Electric kettles were purchased so water could be heated in the classrooms and a refrigerator was purchased to house items requiring refrigeration. While without the grant, the snack program could not stay at quite that level, Friends of NSEEP agreed to fund the weekly fruit component of the snack program allowing the school to redistribute funds to the remaining snack days to continue offering higher quality snacks. The presence of the kettles and refrigerator made it possible to maintain snack offerings that had not been previously offered. Many of the high nutrition items introduced to the snack program because of the grant have continued to the present day: yogurt, cheese, oranges, apples, bananas, natural applesauce, whole grain chips and salsa, etc.

Mary Vaughn Memorial Fund (2015-2017) Mary Vaughn spent 30 years as a special education teacher for the North Syracuse Central School District.  Main Street was lucky to have her as a teacher in the building for many of those years.  To honor her memory, it was asked that donations be made to the North Syracuse Early Education Program leading to the creation of a fund honoring Mary.  The Friends of the North Syracuse Early Education Program partnered with the Mary Vaughn Memorial Fund to create Trike Town, a wonderful addition to the current playground.  The Fund was able to purchase trikes, helmets and pay for a paved pathway that the trikes could travel.  Meanwhile Friends of NSEEP, supplied the $7,700 needed to construct a shed to house the trikes and helmets securely.  To add to trike town’s ambiance, flowers, store fronts, and road lines were added.  The Memorial Fund also purchased new picnic tables and benches for the playground.  Inside the school, the toy library was expanded with monies that remained from our organization’s annual budget and remaining memorial funds.  Plans for additional purchases to be made for the playground are still in the works.