Sold-Out Sultana Gala Gives Foundation’s Fundraising Campaign a Boost

Genie Wootton and Michelle Cerino

A sold-out crowd of more than 400 guests attended the Sultana Education Foundation’s Annual Gala on September 17 at the Chestertown home of Linda, Julia, and Guyon Knight.

Thanks to record attendance, auction contributions, and support from Master Card North America, Chesapeake Bank and Trust, and other national and regional businesses, the event raised over $110,000, bringing the Sultana Education Foundation to within $90,000 of attaining the goal of its four-year Comprehensive Campaign.

Launched in 2013, Sultana’s Comprehensive Campaign has funded the construction of a new LEED Platinum Education Center in Chestertown and will support a 100% expansion of the Foundation’s programs over the next five years.

Vicco Von Voss and Matt Hogans

The success of its Annual Gala is also allowing Sultana to embark on the first phase of its program expansion through the creation of a new staff position to oversee the Foundation’s science-based programs.

“While we aren’t quite finished with our Campaign, the progress we made at the Gala gives us confidence to move forward with adding new staff,” said Sultana Board Chair Patti Hegland.

The job description for Sultana’s new “Director of Science Programs” has been posted on the Foundation’s website and Sultana expects the position to be filled by early 2017. The position is a central part of Sultana’s vision to develop more advanced science programs for middle and high school students, add more academically ambitious summer enrichment programs, and launch new after-school and internship programs.

Based in Chestertown, the Sultana Education Foundation provides award-winning, Maryland State Department of Education certified field programs in history and environmental science with a mission of creating future generations of stewards for the Chesapeake Bay. In 2016 the Foundation will serve more than 12,000 students and teachers from 15 Maryland counties as well as students from Delaware, Pennsylvania, and Washington, DC.