In its first year, the Blaine Public Schools Foundation has provided support across the district, funding on-campus activities, off-campus field trips and a variety of other needs. It’s just the beginning of what the foundation hopes to achieve.
Traci Bowe, a mother with children in the Blaine School District, founded the organization in April 2025.
At the time, Bowe noticed the impact that budget cuts were having on her grade school-aged daughters’ experiences, as well as those of other students and families and knew something had to change.
“I was just like, ‘Well, if we are waiting for the state to work on being able to fund schools in a different way, I don’t think we can wait, because my kids are in school right now,’” she said.
Bowe attended the 2025 Family Science Night and after seeing how dedicated the students and volunteers were, she felt a push to start organizing.
As a mom and small business owner, her plate was already full, but she squeezed in long hours and late-night work sessions to get her passion project up and running.
“It is absolutely a second full-time job,” Bowe said.
Bowe runs the foundation with the help of the other board members: Terre Shapiro, a retired Blaine Primary teacher; Becky Martin, a teacher in the Blaine HomeConnection program; and Sabrina Gomez-Vannelli, owner of Day-to-Day Dance.
The early days, Bowe said, were all about attending as many events as possible to get the word out to the community about the foundation’s mission.
The foundation has taken on many notable projects since June of 2025, including the on-campus pumpkin patch for transitional kindergarten and kindergarten students, replacement of the basketball hoops, a donation of $1,000 worth of new books to the middle school and various field trips and assemblies for all grades.
Last October, the foundation hosted an online auction which ended up raising just over $20,000 for the organization.
“It’s fantastic,” Bowe said. “That was a push to get there, but I’m very goal-oriented.”
Just in time for the start of the 2026-2027 school year, the foundation executed Project PLAYful, which added colorful paintings on the ground next to the primary and elementary school playgrounds and signs that read “Go Borderites” and “Home of the Borderites” on the fences near the bus loop and football field.
Bowe said community engagement and support has made the biggest impact on the work the foundation is able to accomplish. For Project PLAYful, ACE Hardware staff donated their time and paint, and other volunteers, including students and alumni came out to lend a helping hand.
“My hope is that we’re proving ourselves, that we can do a lot with a little bit of money,” she said.
“I think everyone’s thankful,” Bowe said of the response from families and the community. “It takes a lot of work, but I think it makes a difference.”
Looking forward, the foundation aims to continue providing support for students, teachers and student programs.
“It’s hard to say what our exact plans are,” Bowe said. “Honestly, we just want to do what the kids and the teachers and the schools need.”
Aside from Project PLAYful, the foundation has organized a few other back-to-school initiatives. The weekend before school begins, Aug. 22 and 23, the foundation will partner with L&L Bakery, where a portion of the bakery’s proceeds will be donated to the foundation.
The day before school, Tuesday, Aug. 25, the group will host a “Chalk the Walk” event, where it will provide chalk and invite students, families and community members to decorate the sidewalk with colorful art to welcome students back on the first day.
“There’s just so many little things in all of those moments (that) make it really rewarding,” Bowe said of the effort required to continue the foundation’s work.
The foundation plans to host another online auction this fall. More information will be available at blaineschoolsfoundation.org/bpsf-online-auction.
To learn more about the foundation or to donate, visit blaineschoolsfoundation.org.
