By Anthony Rifilato
, where commemorative bricks - installed in a brand new, outdoor patio in front of the commons - were showcased.
The "Buy-a-Brick Campaign" was initiated by the BFE in 2004 as a way to raise money for educational grants the organization provides to Baldwin students each year.
The idea for the brick campaign was simple, BFE members said. For $100, residents, alumni and others can purchase an 8 x 8 brick engraved with the name of a loved one and student, alumni or anyone affiliated with the community or school district.
No commercial slogans or advertising was accepted, and former BFE President Sheila Cohen said that the campaign was a great way to give back to the schools.
"All of the money we raise are for the kids in Baldwin in one way or another," Cohen said, adding that the BFE sold about 450 bricks over two years. "It was a really cooperative effort."
The BFE is an organization of alumni and residents in the Baldwin School District, aimed at enriching the education of its students and funding programs.
Since its inception in 1992, Cohen said the BFE has presented over $74,000 in mini-grants that have funded over 244 projects, and over $96,000 in maxi-grants, as well as $8,000 in cultural arts grants and $46,000 in scholarships.
'We raise money for projects the taxpayers can't afford," Cohen said.
In 2006, a $7,000 fine arts grant helped produce a mural at the middle school, and the BFE recently received a $54,500 grant from the Adolph and Dorothy R. Eckhardt Foundation to go towards scholarships and other educational endeavors.
The brick campaign was initiated after a bond referendum meant to upgrade the school district's infrastructure was approved by voters in 2004.
With the refurbished patio at the high school completed, members of the board of education, parents and students attended the ceremony, where they made speeches and observed the bricks, many of which featured the name of a loved one.
