DAPHNE, Ala. — “The public schools belong to the citizens of Daphne.”

It couldn’t be more true to Denise D’Oliveira, executive director of the Daphne education foundation, Supporting Educational Enrichment in Daphne’s Schools.

As the calendars turn and a new year begins, D’Oliveira and SEEDS have high hopes for 2011, and one of the biggest is increasing community participation and communication throughout the Daphne school community.

“We want to continue to engage the community in recognizing their ownership of the schools in our community,” she said. “We want to build community, raise funds, advocate on improvement and provide enrichment (to the students).”

How does the organization plan to accomplish these goals? Communication and fundraising events that can help engage residents of the Jubilee City to the school community.

“We really want to continue our focus on helping every citizen and resident in Daphne recognize the value of education and the importance of taking a personal ownership on the success of our students,” D’Oliveira said. “We do that through communication, and the events are designed to be community events.”

D’Oliveira said SEEDS would actively participate in implementing and planning the county coalition’s “Yes We Can” campaign in 2011.

“Our big focus over the next three months is to be a part of the development and implementation of the county coalition’s strategic plan,” she said. “The work SEEDS will be doing for the rest of 2011 will be driven by the goals and objectives that the county will be doing, and that’s what I hope will happen with the other foundations.”

Upcoming fundraisers

SEEDS will hold a major annual fundraising event and begin its annual business fundraising campaign.

The seventh annual “Classic Rock 5-K and Fun Run” will take place on March 5 at City Hall, D’Oliveira said, and the event has received recognition as a competitive event.

“We’ve been fortunate enough to be selected as a Corporate Cup event,” she said. “It’s something we’re very grateful and proud of.” The Corporate Cup attracts top runners to specific races to participate. Companies and organizations sign on for this year-long competition, and they run for points and the team with the most points wins the competition.

D’Oliveira said the event received around 1,400 people last year, and that there’s a huge turnout from the school community. She hopes that number grows and the prestige the race has garnered grows as well in 2011.

“It’s a great opportunity for the community to take part in a SEEDS fundraiser,” she said. “We feel our race is becoming a great regional event …. We’re proud of the growing reputation this race has.”

The next fundraising opportunity for SEEDS directly involves the teachers and the annual grants they receive to help “enrich” their classrooms.

The education foundation will begin its corporate “Friends of SEEDS” campaign in March and April, and the funds raised will directly affect how much can be given in the annual enrichment grants given to Daphne school teachers to help implement classroom programs.

“We really rely on the businesses in Daphne to use this chance to work in the foundation and benefit every single child,” D’Oliveira said. “We feel like we’re the only organization that gives such a wide impact on our community.”