KYLE MURPHYStaff Writer

Tullahoma City Schools’ Coordinated School Health department received a $3,500 donation from the Sportsmen & Businessmen’s Charitable Organization (SBCO).

SBCO stopped by during the May meeting of the TCS Board of Education to present the check donation to the Coordinated School Health department, where the proceeds will go towards continuing to help serve students in the district.

“We’re really honored that Sportsman is a part of our district,” Coordinated School Health Director Gina Bumbalough, RN, said. “They have helped our families in many ways.”

According to SBCO Referral Coordinator Taylor Rayfield, SBCO has been around in Coffee County over 40 years to serve the county through various philanthropic efforts, providing an excess of $2 million. He added it was only a few years ago where the organization was having a difficult time getting into TCS to support the district’s students and families. He praised Bumbalough for being integral with allowing SBCO to get into TCS to not only help support her and the Coordinated School Health department, but to also help the schools by giving educational enrichment grants. He added that SBCO had contributed back to Coffee County last year with over $100,000 to unique needs.

 “We started this educational enrichment grant probably about five or six years ago and its continued to evolve, but the one thing that I want to challenge you all is I want to flood our review committee with grant applications,” Rayfield said. “When your teachers are coming to all and saying ‘Hey, I would like to do this to increase instructional strategies and student opportunities, but we don’t have the funding to do so,’ this is that opportunity.”

Rayfield emphasized to the audience, filled with the schools’ principals, assistant principals and other members of TCS, that when he told them he wanted see the review committee flooded, he meant he wanted there to be hundreds of applications.

“We have the opportunity where we can really make a long-standing impact and that is the way we want to do that,” he said. “Over a majority of our budget each year actually goes back either to children or into the educational setting. So we want to continue that work so we are actually excited to present this to Gina and Tullahoma City Schools for $3,500 to go towards her program this year.”

SBCO has been serving Coffee County since 1984 through various philanthropic efforts, where it has provided over $2 million to the community. Since working with TCS, SBCO has helped TCS to provided medical care, transportation, rent, food, clothing, shoes, school supplies, hygiene items, gas money for students to get to services appointments and even a bicycle helmet, enabling a student to safely ride their bicycle to school. SBCO has also served TCS by providing mini-grants and scholarships to TCS students to enhance their education.