FOUNDATION FOR VANCOUVER PUBLIC SCHOOLS RECEIVES $20K FOR STUDENTS FROM LONGTIME SUPPORTER DICK HANNAH DEALERSHIPS (Photo) - 10/07/26

VANCOUVER, Wash. —  As summer counted down, donation bins across the Vancouver area filled with new school supplies. During their Write from the Start school supply drive, the Foundation for Vancouver Public Schools accepts both physical and monetary donations.

For the 11th consecutive year, Dick Hannah Dealerships helped make the drive a success by providing $10,000 in matching funds. The community responded by raising an additional $11,925, bringing the total raised through the campaign to $21,925. 

The funds allow Vancouver Public Schools’ community school coordinators to purchase essential supplies in bulk, stretching donations further and helping ensure students have what they need throughout the school year. The monetary donations supplement more than $15,000 worth of school supplies collected through the Write from the Start drive, including notebooks, pencils, crayons and backpacks. 

With 53.9% of VPS students living below the federal poverty line, these donations help remove a significant barrier to learning.
 

In addition to its $10,000 contribution to Write from the Start, Dick Hannah Dealerships also donated $10,000 to the Foundation for Vancouver Public Schools’ general fund, bringing its total contribution to the Foundation this year to $20,000. The funds help with other Foundation areas of aid such as food, utility shut-off prevention for families, mental health supports, and more. 
 

Says Matt Berry of Dick Hannah Dealerships, “Helping students succeed in school aligns perfectly with our ‘Believe in Nice’ promise.”

UPDATE: Foundation For Vancouver Public Schools Will Break Ground On New Building To Support Applied Trades At Skyview High School (Photos & Video) (Photo) - 09/29/26

UPDATE (September 29, 2026): Photos and video from today's groundbreaking event are now available here.

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VANCOUVER, Wash. — On Tuesday, September 29, the Foundation for Vancouver Public Schools, VPS staff and students, and community partners will gather at Skyview High School for the groundbreaking of a new applied trades building. 
 

Date: September 29, 2026 

Time: 10:30 a.m. – 11:30 a.m. 

Location: Skyview High School, 1300 NW 139th St, Vancouver, WA 
 

The new facility will provide students with hands-on, experiential training in both construction trades and advanced manufacturing. The center aims to create a pool of skilled workers ready to contribute to the region’s ongoing economic growth upon graduation.
 

Fully-funded through a partnership between the Endeavour Fund and Ed & Dollie Lynch Fund, the building is projected to open to students in late 2027.

This is the third entirely donor-funded Trades building at a VPS school facilitated by the Foundation for VPS. The first was the Endeavour Technical Trades Center at Hudson’s Bay High School, followed by the Ed Lynch Trades Center at Fort Vancouver High School.

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The Foundation for Vancouver Public Schools is an independent, 501(c)3 educational non-profit corporation established in 1988 to support Vancouver Public Schools (VPS). Governed by a volunteer board of directors made up of business, community, and education leaders, the foundation creates opportunities to cultivate and inspire student success. As an educational non-profit entity, the foundation serves students at all 40 VPS schools and programs, providing direct aid to students facing learning barriers due to economic need, as well as financial assistance for learning enrichment and mentoring programs that cannot be funded by the school district. The Foundation for VPS is supported by donations from school employees, parents, students, community members, businesses and foundations.