Foundation starts 'Scholar's Circle' Foundation starts 'Scholar's Circle' (January 19, 2005)

** Donors of $10,000 will be invited to hear tech guru Jeff Hawkins.

By Marjorie Mader

Almanac Staff Writer

The Menlo Park-Atherton Education Foundation is launching a new program, "Scholar's Circle," to entice donors to give $10,000 or more to the nonprofit organization that supports Menlo Park's public schools.

Jeff Hawkins, designer of the Palm Pilot, Treo and Visor products and founder of the Redwood Neuroscience Institute in Menlo Park, is the featured speaker for the first gathering of the circle on Thursday, January 27, in a private home.

People who give $10,000 or more during the foundation's annual campaign, now underway, will be invited. For more information, go to www.mpaef.org.

"Already, we're gratified to see more people commit to give to the foundation at a higher level," said Carol Fields, foundation co-vice president.

The foundation's annual fundraising goal for 2005 is $1.4 million.

Last year the foundation gave $1.2 million or about $600 per student for the 2,100 students in the Menlo Park K-8 district's four schools -- Laurel and Encinal in Atherton and Oak Knoll and Hillview Middle in Menlo Park. That represents 6 percent of the Menlo Park district's annual budget.

Mr. Hawkins, an Atherton resident, is director and chairman of Redwood Neuroscience Instititute (www.rni.org), a nonprofit scientific research organization focused on understanding how the human brain works. The book "On Intelligence," co-authored by Mr. Hawkins and released last fall, illustrates the kind of research the institute is pursuing.

Jill Parker is president of the Menlo Park-Atherton Education Foundation.
INFORMATION

For more information, go to mpaef.org and click on the Scholar's Circle link on the right.

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