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Matching Grant Offered for Schools

David Mills
Connection Staff
April 2008

The challenge has been issued to Emeryville businesses.

Raise $100,000 for the city’s schools and I’ll match it.

That’s the offer being made by Amer Hammour, chief executive officer of Madison Marquette, the parent company of Bay Street Emeryville.

It came while Hammour and Eric Hohmann, Madison Marquette’s managing director, were visiting Emery Secondary School in early March with Emery Ed Fund President John Gooding and School Superintendent Steve Wesley.

Hammour donated $50,000 to the Emery Unified School District last year and he was being shown some of the improvements that money helped pay for. Two Emery Secondary seniors greeted Hammour and Hohmann and told them how their funds had helped them achieve high enough SAT scores to get into college.

The meeting impressed Hammour, so later that afternoon he asked Gooding and Wesley what the district needed. Wesley told him Emeryville is home to many high-tech and bio-tech firms, yet the schools have no technology courses. Wesley said the district needed

$150,000 to hire a full-time technology teacher and buy the necessary equipment.

Hammour thought for a moment, then said if Emeryville businesses would raise money for that goal, he would match their contribution up to $100,000. He said the $200,000 total would give the schools enough for a technology curriculum, with $50,000 left over for other needs.

Wesley immediately accepted the offer, walked over to Hammour and gave him a hug.

“I was moved and very gratified and, quite frankly, shocked,” said Wesley.

Gooding was also ecstatic over the offer.

“It’s an exciting, wonderful thing,” he said.

The campaign has already begun to get Emeryville businesses to donate. The district has six months to raise the funds and officials are optimistic they can accomplish their goal.

“We’re off to a good start. We have a long way to go, but we’ve got a few months to get it done,” said Gooding.

David Mills is a writer for the The Emeryville Connection. Contact him at ecocnews@gmail.com.