Working in Elizabeth City and being part of the community has always been important to Karin and Andy Montero. Giving back is a huge component of owning a business, and they’ve found a way to do that via S.A.F.E. Schools fund.

Andy and Karin Montero have been an advocate of the SAFE Schools Fund in Elizabeth City for quite some time – and we wanted to use this platform to tell you a little more about it! SAFE stands for “Safety Assurance for Everyone”, and, per Andy, a co-founder, “We didn’t feel like it was right to put it all on the district to find a solution.”

Always looking for creative ways to raise money, they’ve used spaghetti dinners, a womanless beauty pageant, and more. Having raised over $260,000 in the last 5 years, all of that money has gone back into Elizabeth City-Pasquotank County Public Schools. With this money, they’ve added cameras, intercom systems, magnetically locking front doors, and security cameras on buses. With goals continuing to rise with the increase of gun violence in schools, they’ve made it their mission to have 70 additional cameras installed at schools all over the district.

The most recent efforts have been directed at keeping schools safe, because the S.A.F.E. Schools Fund works directly with administrators to make sure that their top priorities are being addressed. It’s not about an agenda, or politics – it’s simply about keeping the kids safe and well taken care of.

S.A.F.E. Schools Fund is also about boosting morale for students and teachers alike. There are goals to create a super supply store – a bus that will travel from school to school to help teachers save money for supplies that they need.

The beauty of all of this? It can be replicated anywhere, across any school district. The idea is there so that funds can be raised and allocated to districts to continue to provide a safe environment for our children. While this is happening for Elizabeth City, it would be beautiful for it to happen across districts nationwide.