‘FIEB Backers aims to help school/students

Every year, schools face difficult problems which include shrinking budgets, increasing class sizes, government mandates and the challenges of delivering quality education are daunting.
Understanding these ongoing problems, a group of women wanted to assist their community school, the Forked Island-E. Broussard Elementary School.
Using a bible verse from Hebrews 3:13 - “Encourage one another daily while it is still today” as their motto, they met with the FIEB principal, Mrs. Patricia Gaspard to give them direction of where to go and what was needed.
It was decided to become a “backers” club.
After determining on a name, the FIEB Backers Club, the next thing accomplished was to elect officers. They include Lynette Simon, president; Angela Sistrunk, vice president; Leslie Simon, treasurer and Jolie Hardee, secretary.
“We have such a great school,” said Simon. “The staff, faculty and students all do their part in making this school a success. So we felt by giving them just an extra hand in doing their job, it would benefit everyone. With approximately 310 students, our help allows the teachers to focus on teaching our kids and we can take care of the little thing, even if it is just making copies for them. ”
Their mission is to do anything to encourage the staff and faculty of the school, enrich the student’s educational experience, as well as improve everyone’s learning environment.
One of the first things the organization decided upon was to take fundraising out of the school.
“Even though we needed funds to do all the projects we hope to do,” said the president, “we didn’t want to nickel and dime our parents/grandparents/guardians to death”.
The opportunity to work concessions at an LSU game proved to be one answer to this problem.
The way this works is that volunteers show up to work the concession stand for all the home games, and the organization gets to take home 10 percent of the profits.
“It was lots of work,” said Simon, “but we had fun doing it and was able to make money for the FIEB Backers club without asking any of our parents for money. We all agreed it was better than sending home pamphlets to sell, candy, popcorn or trinkets. All it took was a little work, and we can bring that money back to our school. ”
The organization may have begun with a handful, but has grown to 50-60 people attending the meetings.
Many projects are on the horizon with the largest being the Fall Fest.
“We are planning a festival for the kids with games and prizes. Students will earn points with good behavior and no infractions. This gives everyone an incentive to look forward to,” said the president.
An upcoming surprise in the works is a chartered bus trip to Christmas shop in Canton, Texas.
“I challenge all alumni of E. Broussard/FIEB to pick up the phone and call me at 643-6724 to volunteer to work the concession at the LSU games or any project we are doing. We are almost an Academic A school and I firmly believe that with help for our teachers, students and staff we can become an A school by making learning easier, enjoyable and fun.”