It was also the beginning of my relationship with Dr. Gough. I’d known of his presence at the Foundation for some time and our paths kept crossing as teachers and administrators encouraged us to meet one another. It is not often that you come across a man like Dr. Gough. He is at once passionate and pragmatic. Commanding yet kind. In 2018 I was elected Vice President of the Board and that is when Steve began to share his knowledge with me. Often, much of what we do at the Foundation goes unseen. Unlike many nonprofits, we have a very small operating budget and rely almost entirely on the village for support. And in fact, for almost the entirety of the Foundation’s existence, nearly 100% of your donations went directly back into the District. But as the Foundation began to grow and the need for our services became more apparent, we knew we needed a dedicated full-time staff member in order to meet the demands of the District. As we hoped, the position is now self-sustaining, and we are raising more funds for our community than ever before. But to build on this momentum, we must rely on your continued support.

So, as we say goodbye to Steve and I take on my next role, there is one word that comes to mind: Thanks.

Thanks to Dr. Steven T. Gough for his role in creating, maintaining, and growing the Foundation into an unmatched system of support for the School District.

Thanks to everyone at H.U.G.S. who joined us when we created a system of volunteer support for Woodland Hills and who continue to serve the community with your time and talents.

Thanks to the Foundation for respecting and believing in the work we were doing and for championing our efforts.

Thanks to the entire Board of the Woodland Hills Foundation for their confidence in me and for valuing my skillset and ideas.

Thanks especially to our Director of Development, Jennifer Trehar, whose talents, and dedication have ushered in a new phase for the Foundation and enabled us to do things we previously could only imagine. 

And most of all thanks to all of you. For helping us grow the Foundation into an organization we can be proud to call our own. It truly does take a Village. I know that I can count on you as we move into this next phase—together.

Sincerely,

Jessica R. Reed
Board President

On December 8, High School Principal Shelly Manns shared a plea to her followers on Facebook. Her goal was to raise enough funds to purchase a small present for EVERY student in the High School. Parents took the lead and set up donation pages on PayPal and Fundrazr.com.  As soon as the Foundation learned about this initiative, we knew we could help! In just two days, the Foundation secured over $1,000 gifts from you, "The Village". And today, our combined total is $3,566.50! We are more than halfway there but we still need your help! "The Village" showed up in support of our little ones over Halloween, now let's give our High School Students some love! Please donate whatever you can today!

FOR MORE INFORMATION OR TO DISCUSS ADDITIONAL BENEFITS, EMAIL JENNIFER.WHFOUNDATION@GMAIL.COM