 A foundation in Pequot Lakes recently received an anonymous gift that will increase their size more than tenfold. The Patriot Foundation in Pequot Lakes was given a $100,000 dollar anonymous donation. Patriot Foundation is a non-profit organization that provides scholarships and funding to enhance opportunities in the arts, academics, athletics and activities in Pequot Lakes. As we know, school district funds can't be used for scholarships for students and we want to have ways we can help our kids and that's what this is all about is providing revenue to do those things that school dollars can't. The Patriot Foundation was dissolved in 2011 after being founded in the 80s. It has recently been relaunched thanks to new partnerships with the Initiative Foundation. The anonymous gift will be able to grow to more than $175,000 in the next 25 years and during that time will provide more than $130,000 in grants and scholarships. I and some other folks felt it was far too important to have and so we relaunched it in 2018 under the umbrella of the Initiative Foundation and what makes that special is the Initiative Foundation allows the endowment structure so this is an endowed fund that grows over time and provides revenue and perpetuity. The Pequot Lakes School District hopes to keep growing the Patriot Foundation over the years. Community members and businesses can donate to the Foundation all year round. If you enjoyed this segment of Lakeland News, please consider making a tax-deductible contribution to Lakeland PBS.