Anoka-Hennepin Educational Foundation

AHEF donors fund a wide variety of grants including hands-on learning activities such as "Farm to Table: Cultivating Skills Through Gardening." This gardening project provided students with real-world experiences that connected science, nutrition, independent living, and vocational skills. Students started seeds indoors and learned about plant growth, germination, watering, and plant care. Plants were transplanted into the community garden, where Extended School Year (ESY) students continued caring for and harvesting produce. Crops such as pumpkins will be harvested in the fall, providing students with opportunities to experience the full farm-to-table cycle, including harvesting and potential cooking or life-skills activities using the produce grown through the project. Thank you donors for supporting this down-to-earth experience!

There's only 4 team spots left for AHEF's 2026 Putt-ing Kids First" Golf Tournament on Sept. 12! Get your team and your outfits together and register for this fantastic day out supporting Anoka-Hennepin School District students. Sign up today at ahef.us/golf

We are thrilled to welcome a new sponsor for our 2026 "Putt-ing Kids First" Golf Tournament, Nicolet Bank! They help build a sustainable future for the communities they serve, and that includes Anoka-Hennepin School District students. Thank you Nicolet!

Archery allows students of all physical abilities, athletic backgrounds, and fitness levels to compete and succeed on a level playing field. This AHEF grant provided funding to help the Outdoor Adventures program at C**n Rapids High School purchase bows, arrows, and archery targets. The archery equipment brought a high level of focus and patience to students as they learned strict safety commands. The students take a huge amount of pride in maintaining and caring for high-quality, specialized gear when given the responsibility. It became a badge of honor to locate arrows that missed targets! The durable nature of the archery equipment and the care that the students showed in maintaining it, ensures this grant will impact hundreds of CRHS seniors for years to come.

AHEF donors are helping Anoka-Hennepin School District students build focus, responsibility and teamwork—thank you donors!

Golfers!! 🐦 Early bird pricing ends this Friday, July 31! Save money on registration for AHEF's "Putt-ing Kids First" Golf Tournament, Sept. 12 at Green Haven Golf Course. Want to golf but don't have a team? No problem, we'll get you set up with one! ahef.us/golf

You have all summer to practice your putting, but only until July 31 to register at the early bird rate for AHEF's "Putt-ing Kids First" Golf Tournament! Get your team together—if you don't have one, we can get you one—and join the fun on Sept. 12 at Green Haven Golf Course. Register at ahef.us/golf.

Happy faces after the Sandburg Regional High School Finance Park Field Trip! The goal of the trip is to give students the opportunity to 'try-on' adult decisions before actually needing to make them. Students received identities, including fictional families, careers, and even a credit score. Students used those identities to move through stations learning about the financial implications of decisions such as taking out loans to finance education or a home, budgeting for insurance and childcare, and interest rates in investing and credit card interest. The students were genuinely surprised by the decisions and costs associated with common adult responsibilities!

Pairing this experience with Economics and Personal Finance coursework was a great way to make the learning more salient and engaging.

Thank you AHEF donors for this valuable life experience!

As we roll into the weekend, don't forget to register—at the early bird rate—for the 67th Annual "Putt-ing Kids First" Sept. 12! If you don't have a team, we will add you to another group and get you in the game.

https://www.ahef.us/2026golf/

Thanks to AHEF donors, Wilson Elementary School has a new mascot costume for Whirly! He even has a little fan inside to keep cool!