Driving for education

Olivia Hanson

Fort Dodge Ford Lincoln Toyota will host the Ford Drive 4 UR School event from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Aug. 18 at the dealership at 2723 Fifth Ave. S.

Ford Drive 4 UR School is an event that supports education at the Fort Dodge Community School District.

At the event, any community member is able to come and test drive a car. For every unique test drive, $20 will be donated to the Fort Dodge Community Schools Foundation.

Only one person per household is eligible and they also must be 18 or older with a valid driver’s license.

The money from this event goes to technology, professional development, educational items and other things that support education, students and teachers in the classroom.

This event was coordinated by Matt Johnson, a member of the Fort Dodge Community Schools Foundation and general manager of Fort Dodge Ford Lincoln Toyota, in coordination with Molly Nelson, FDCS Foundation director, and the rest of the FDCS Foundation.

“Molly and I served on the foundation together and we just were looking for additional ways to partner, just to support the school system,” Johnson said. “This is an avenue through Ford and a partnership with the dealership and the foundation that we’re able to provide for the students. We both said, ‘hey this is something we need to do and set a date, get the community excited and get a bunch of support to support our kids.'”

The money raised through this event will go to teacher requests that will improve their students’ education beyond what district funding allows. The teachers go through an application process to request something they see as a bonus for their classroom — whether that’s technology, professional development, or something else, then the board chooses whether or not it will accept it based on its list of qualifications.

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