Welcome to Mattawan Public Education Foundation

“When we got started, there were two clear goals. First, we wanted the foundation to bring new and innovative ideas to enhance the student experience at Mattawan. Secondly, we wanted the foundation to be part of the community, to make sure everyone was welcome to be a part of the board and its efforts.” – Bob Cretsinger, Founding Board Member and MPEF Executive Director until 2002

MPEF values its past: those whose vision and passion established the foundation and made possible the successful organization we have become.

An all-volunteer organization, the foundation began thanks to the combined efforts of some school administrators, members of the school board and community volunteers. Since 1993, MPEF has continually grown through its volunteers and the community, each providing funding to impact virtually every student in our school system through innovative programs.

As one founding member notes: “How can you go wrong being involved in an organization that helps kids become better adults?”

Our history offers a perspective that both informs the past and encourages our continued growth and improvement. We have found that looking back allows us to look forward with a clear vision of what can be.

It began with people, ideas and enthusiasm.

When a small group of individuals began talking in late 1990 about creating an education foundation to benefit Mattawan Consolidated School, they might not have pictured how far this dream could soar, yet their enthusiasm linked individuals from the school, the school board and the community together in an effort to “make it happen.”

Those founders intended the organization to work with the school district in planned ways to augment the high quality offerings already in place in Mattawan Schools. Their dedication to the mission of “strengthening the community through funding unique education opportunities” set the tone for MPEF and it was the original board members who provided the seed money from their own pockets to create funds for grants and scholarships.

Since our beginning, MPEF has been shaped and staffed by volunteers. We are certainly most appreciative to the initial efforts by the key people on the original “School Board Foundation Committee,” formed in 1990 to develop the idea of an educational foundation in Mattawan. Heartfelt thanks to David Yates, (then) school board president; Mona Furtwangler, who was a school board member; Bob Cretsinger, (then) school personnel director; and Shari Magrath and Bob Pangle, district residents.

Through the years, many dedicated individuals have served on the MPEF Board, and countless others have helped with events and committee tasks. Above all, MPEF has continued to grow and do more for the students, teachers and staff in our schools due to the generous and thoughtful donations of the people in our community.

The first Outstanding Service Scholarship Award of $300 was presented to a student in May 1993. In 1994, the first Creative Instruction Awards were presented to teachers, totaling $600. Since then, MPEF has continued to grow and expand donations to Mattawan Consolidated School each year.