Keeping the community focused on kids’ education
James Derasmo helps enhance schools through new foundation
BY JANE MEGGITT
Staff Writer

JEFF GRANIT staff James Derasmo, of Upper Freehold, has committed a lot of his spare time to the development of the Upper Freehold Regional Education Foundation.

UPPER FREEHOLD — In an era of stagnant state school funding and high property taxes, the community needs extra help providing the best education for its schoolchildren.

The mission of the Upper Freehold Regional Education Foundation (UFREF) is to enhance the educational experience in township schools through the identification and development of community partnerships and resources. Leading the group on this mission is James Derasmo, who has been cited for his work as one of the People Who Make a Difference for 2006.

Derasmo moved to the township from Rockville Centre, N.Y., in early 2002. He and his wife, Maria, have two children, Susan, 8, and John, 5.

For the past nine years, he has been employed by a major financial services company and currently serves as head of a performance management group. He has also worked in public accounting at Price Waterhouse, Coopers & Lybrand (the two of which merged in 1998 to form PricewaterhouseCoopers) and Kenneth Leventhal & Co., where he developed a specialty in the real estate industry.

Derasmo started getting involved in his new community shortly after moving to Upper Freehold. After attending a public hearing on the proposed new middle school in 2002, he decided to concentrate his efforts on providing additional opportunities to district students by helping establish the foundation.

In recognition of his drive and dedication, members of the fledgling organization offered Derasmo the position of acting president in November 2005, which he accepted. A year later, the foundation’s trustees formally elected him as president.

Under his guidance and leadership during the foundation’s first year, community-wide information sessions were held to generate awareness of the organization’s mission and goals. The group participated in Upper Freehold Community Day and Allentown’s Harvest Festival in an effort to get their message out.

The foundation also established a Web site to help with marketing efforts and assist in the identification and recruitment of additional trustees and volunteers. The group worked closely with community members as well on the “Evening Out for the Arts” fundraiser, which focused on enhancing the role of arts in education.

A competition within Allentown High School (AHS) to design the foundation’s logo was conducted, and iPod nanos were awarded to the students with the top two designs.

The Upper Freehold education foundation also partnered with its counterpart in a neighboring town, the Millstone Township Foundation for Educational Excellence (MTFEE), on the “Fore the Kids” golf outing fundraiser. Derasmo said that after learning about Upper Freehold’s fledgling organization, members of the Millstone foundation approached the UFREF about doing the joint fundraiser.

Held at the Forsgate Country Club in Monroe on Oct. 16, the event netted approximately $11,000 for Upper Freehold’s foundation. Derasmo said the proceeds would directly benefit AHS students through project-specific funding.

In addition, the foundation assisted in the submission of a grant application to Bristol-Myers Squibb in North Brunswick, which garnered $10,000 for the AHS Robotics Club.

The foundation recently welcomed three faculty representatives from the elementary, middle and high schools to help it identify projects that would provide the greatest benefit to all Upper Freehold Regional School District students, according to Derasmo.

While the UFREF currently has nine trustees, Derasmo said that number would expand to 12 in order to represent a cross-community composition of members and skill sets and to conduct officer elections.

Although pleased with the foundation’s most recent accomplishments, Derasmo recognizes that plenty of work still needs to be done. He said the organization’s next steps would include working with the Upper Freehold Regional Board of Education and the faculty representatives to identify additional enhancement opportunities for students, with a focus on grant allocation.

The foundation will also actively recruit volunteers, trustees and individuals looking to make a difference in the lives of students, he said. Other plans include developing an alumni directory for AHS and planning the next fundraiser.

The foundation should “bridge the gap between the school budget and the needs of kids,” Derasmo said. He emphasized how hard all the trustees and those involved with the foundation have worked on behalf of the children in the district and said that more volunteers are needed to continue this work.

For more information, visit the Upper Freehold Regional Educational Foundation Web site at www.UFREF.org.