A $12,000 donation will fund computers for additional classrooms at Homer Davis Elementary School. Jody Gross presented a check, on behalf of the 12 grandchildren who are part of the Maizlish Family Foundation, to the school’s principal, Lyle Dunbar, at the 10th anniversary celebration of “Making a Difference Every Day: The Homer Davis Project” on March 31 at the Jewish Federation of Southern Arizona.
“As a family, we can perpetuate this giving from generation to generation,” Gross’ mother, Phyllis Maizlish, told the AJP in a 2016 interview. She started the foundation in memory of her husband, Irvin, who died in 1997. Each year, the dozen cousins choose a special project to support. This is the second year they chose Homer Davis.
“The need for technology in the classroom is huge, so our students have the same opportunity as other students,” Dunbar says.
Since 2009, the JFSA Jewish Community Relations Council has overseen the project’s volunteers and donations to support students at Homer Davis, where 85 percent of the children meet poverty guidelines. Along with supplementary weekend food packs for children, the project provides school snacks, school supplies, books, and other instructional materials. Project volunteers include tutors, coaches, and homework helpers, food bag packers, and mentors. Sponsors and individual donors contribute school spirit shirts, backpacks, school supplies, and toiletries.
