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We're shining a light on the people who make our work possible — community members who believe in the power of public education. Through their stories, we hope to celebrate our shared commitment to Sonoma Valley students. To nominate a community member for a future Q and A, email [email protected].  Cheryl Shimek SVEF: How long have you been an SVEF supporter, and what prompted you to become involved?
Cheryl Shimek: I’ve had a lifelong interest in the arts, so shortly after I moved to Sonoma, I got involved with Sonoma Plein Air, which puts on a weeklong festival raising funds for K-12 arts education grants and scholarships. Connections I made through Plein Air drew me into the orbit of the Education Foundation in 2018 – the two groups work together in complementary ways supporting our local students. The more I learned, the more I realized that teachers in every subject area need our help. They can’t do it alone. Why is SVEF's mission, and investing in local students, important to you? I like to be involved in nonprofits that give something back to the community and society, and I especially tend to support ones that involve kids. So SVEF’s mission of supporting local K-12 students, and recognizing the need to provide extra support beyond what school budgets can provide, really resonates with me. I also have a strong belief in education as a key to success. I originally trained as a critical care nurse before moving into marketing and product development roles in the medical field, picking up an MBA in the process. I’ve worked for startups and learned about mobile technology when it was still new. So if I hadn't been educated and if I wasn’t continually learning, I wouldn’t have had such an exciting and interesting career. That lifelong love of learning is so important - as long as you're open to learning something new, you can keep on going. Why did you decide to become a monthly donor - and what would you say to other supporters who are considering signing up to give monthly? As I became involved in more and more local nonprofits, I wanted to be able to support a wide variety in some way, shape, or form. Monthly giving makes it easy to start at a reasonable place – and at the end of the year, I can appreciate that it does add up incrementally. I appreciate the ability to start small and grow, and the monthly donations are happening in the background. I don’t have to give a single large donation all at once, so it’s not a burden when it comes to budgeting. And then at the end of the year, I can see what the total is, and evaluate, and decide whether to increase a little more the next year. So many of us are paying for apps and subscriptions we never use – for the same amount each month, you can make a real difference for the kids in our community.
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