Liberty provides many different opportunities for students to get involved at school. From mock trial to football, students are given the chance to explore their passions and interests in high school.
The Liberty Fund was created with the intent of raising money, and then distributing that money back to underfunded groups at Liberty. Liberty Principal Dr. Justin Colbert (he/him),, is the Liberty Fund advisor.
“It’s really about championing Liberty pride, and giving everybody equitable opportunities to participate in extracurricular activities outside of athletics.” Colbert adds, “The biggest piece is making sure that everybody has access to those exciting opportunities.”
The Liberty Fund plays vital roles in the lives of students every day. In the last year, the Liberty Fund has given grants to clubs like Business Professionals of America (BPA), Liberty Color Guard, and National Honors Society (NHS). But how do students go about receiving this funding?
Grants are written by students and their advisors, and submitted to the Liberty Fund board. The board then reviews the grant request, and decides how much funding the organization will receive.
An essential part of the Liberty Fund board are the student representatives chosen to give a voice to the Liberty student population. Elaina McDonald (she/her), is one of those students.
“I provide a student perspective, and help review grants that get submitted,” she said. McDonald emphasizes the importance of having a student perspective on the Fund.
“Since the grants are concerning students at Liberty, it is important to have a student opinion on what should be prioritized for funding.”
Colbert reflects on the impact that these student representatives have on the Liberty Fund.
“They can give some insight to the board members because a lot of the board members are families who don’t work in our building,” Colbert said. “So they’re able to share some of that information, like, the impact that those clubs have on the school.”
The Liberty Fund also puts on periodical fundraisers to raise money. A recurring fundraiser is the annual Color Run. Put on by Liberty students, the Color Run is a community fun run that aims to raise money for the Liberty Fund.
In the eight years that Liberty has been open, the Liberty Fund has worked to eradicate inequitable funding at Liberty. Colbert hopes to continue the work that the Liberty Fund does in coming years.
“Long term, hopefully the Liberty funds stays around, because it’s been a great funding source for a lot of our underfunded groups.”
