SWAMPSCOTT — The School Committee announced during Thursday’s meeting that the Weatherspoon Charitable Foundation donated a total of $7,500 to Swampscott High School, with the funds supporting the Theatre Department and the TV Program.
Vice Chair Glenn Paster noted that the $7,000 donation is intended for the high school’s TV Program and will be used at the discretion of Media Arts Teacher and Cable TV Coordinator JoE Douillette.
“The TV Program continues to expand. It continues to do really new and exciting things. As technology changes, Mr. Douillette is on the cutting edge of that… The $7,000 goes a very long way in our school district,” Paster said.
Paster then opened the floor for Douillette to speak, asking what he would do with the $7,000 donation.
“It’s actually an interesting question, because as we’re doing budgets for both the schools and the town, and we’re watching cable revenue drop, I’m realizing that I’m not in the same position that I had been for the past 10 years,” Douillette explained. “We’ve been very blessed to have enough money to build this system as we have… This $7,000 is going to be key for replacing some of the TV cameras that I purchased eight or nine years ago when I had more money to play with that I don’t have now.”
Douillette added that he thinks it was perfect timing for the donation, noting that having the income to replace old equipment is crucial.
“I imagine that’s what we’ll use the donation for, to replace the TV cameras,” Douillette said. He also expressed his gratitude toward the Weatherspoon Charitable Foundation for the funds.
The Weatherspoon Charitable Foundation is a family trust dedicated to assisting funding for various non-profits and institutions. The mechanism is based on each member of the family. Beginning at 18, each family member is provided with an amount of funding to donate to non-profits at their discretion. This increases at certain ages (18, 21, and 30), allowing the descendants to provide to groups important to them and starting them on their charitable journey.
The member of the foundation who provided the $7,000 donation was formerly in the high school’s TV program back in 2015-2017. Their donation aims to ensure that the program has funds to maintain updated equipment and provide meaningful experiences as they had.
Paster said that the Weatherspoon Charity Foundation also donated $500 to the Theatre Department. He explained that it will help fund the production of the annual play or musical, acquire materials for classroom instruction, and pay for meals and transportation for lower-income students traveling to Drama Fest.
He reiterated his enthusiasm for the donation, saying that any bit helps.
“The foundation has been a supporter of the district for many years, and it’s given significant dollars to various departments within the district. It’s just incredible, and we’re so thankful for what they do,” Paster said in a follow-up conversation.
