
Photo by Ron Burkett.
Elaine Yancey
Elaine Yancey, the new executive director of the VHCSF, wants the foundation to grow its endowment.
When Elaine Yancey dreams big these days behind her new desk at the Vestavia Hills City Schools Foundation, she dreams of being able to fund every single grant proposal that any teacher in town submits.
It’s because she’s passionate about public education, she said, and because she knows that each of those proposals represents a teacher or a class who needs that extra investment.
“We’re fortunate to have a very high-level school system in Vestavia Hills, but that doesn’t happen without supplementary finances,” said Yancey, the new director of the Vestavia Hills City Schools Foundation.
As a state, Alabama struggles in the area of public-school rankings, and that means extra help is needed to bridge the gap, she said. The foundation has been able to make extraordinary strides toward that end in Vestavia, Yancey said.
“But every year, the schools [in Vestavia] get so many grant proposals for things that teachers want for their classrooms, and we don’t have enough money to fund them all.”
That’s why she wants to see the foundation grow its endowment — to cover more and more of those requests, she said.
Yancey said she’s impressed with the massive amount the foundation has already been able to do to support Vestavia’s public education — to date, the foundation has granted nearly $783,000 in funds for teacher development, classroom enhancement and technology.
That’s what attracted Yancey to the job at the helm of the foundation — the opportunity to continue that legacy and grow it even more, she said.
“They have really done a substantial amount of work with the resources they have had,” Yancey said.
Yancey had invested the previous 17 years of her life in a similar role at McWane Science Center in Birmingham as its vice president of operations and business development, so when she heard about the position with the Vestavia Hills City Schools Foundation, it seemed like the perfect fit, she said.
“For a very long time, I have been passionate about education, both formal and informal,” Yancey said. “I was ready for something different and was trying to figure out what I’d like to do with the rest of my life. This seemed like it would be a great new challenge.”
Janet Ball, president of the foundation, said she’s excited about the future of Vestavia Hills City Schools Foundation with Yancey at the helm.
“I am proud to be a part of the VHCSF during this important time of our history in celebrating our 20th anniversary and welcoming Elaine,” Ball said. “I am looking forward to the great things the foundation will be doing into the future for Vestavia’s children and our schools.”
Yancey said she’s excited about the projects already in the works with help from foundation grants, like a green roof sustainability project underway at Vestavia Hills High School that received $10,000 from the foundation.
They have also been able to fund technology purchases like iPad Minis and Blue-Bots for Vestavia Hills Elementary East and instructional materials for other schools.
And grants sent four teachers to a professional development conference in Atlanta recently.
“The foundation does a lot of work that isn’t always a super visible thing,” Yancey said. “The ultimate goal would be that they (teachers) would have the funds to do everything they want to do for these students, that we wouldn’t have to turn anyone down.”
In order to keep going toward that goal, the foundation has two big fundraisers every year. Next up is the third annual PNC and VHCSF Luncheon on Oct. 4 featuring Todd Gerelds, author of “Woodlawn: One Hope, One Dream, One Way.” That event will be held at A Club in Vestavia.
The foundation’s Dinner and Diamonds event will also be held again in February.
“It’s exciting the way people are giving to the future of these kids and the future of the community,” Yancey said. “Giving to the foundation is a really tangible way that you can see the impact that your giving is having on these kids and these teachers to have what they need to run their classrooms.”
For more information, visit vestaviafoundation.org.