The Albany Fund for Education was formed in 1998 by a diverse group of parents, educators, business people, and members of the community, eager to increase student opportunities in this economically challenged urban district by harnessing resources and ideas from the community.
The brainchild of district parent Theresa Vaughan, AFE gained its 501c3 status in 1999 and remained an all-volunteer organization until it hired its first part-time executive director in 2015. Since inception, AFE has devoted itself to connecting community resources with our schools to bring new ideas and funding to enhance opportunities for our students. A partial list of AFE successes, some of which we have helped transition to long-term life outside AFE, include:
- Classroom Innovation Grants, including our initial Get on the Bus funding for field trips
- Dental Van, which provided needed dental care to students at school, and now operates as Seal a Smile through Whitney Health Services
- Arbor Day tree plantings through AFE’s Albany Goes Green
- Mentoring Breakfasts to strengthen networking between and build the capacity of providers of mentors for our students
- Over 550 students supported each year by Feed and Read weekend food backpacks
- Over 400 donated instruments refurbished for schools through our Musical Instrument Donation Program
- More than 650 computers and 500 hotspots provided to plug the need gap for virtual schooling through our Computer for Every Child Program