The Impact Garden: A Celebration of What We Grew Together
An event in honor of the 2025-2026 Innovation Grant and WHOLE Schools Fund Recipients! Special thanks to our Presenting Sponsor, Mark Jacobson Toyota!
Date: May 21
Time: 5:00 PM – 7:00 PM
Location: Durham Armory (212 Foster Street, Durham, NC 27701)
Attire: Chic - come dressed in a way that makes you feel confident, comfortable, and celebratory.
Accommodations: The Durham Armory is accessible and includes a ramp for easy entry. If you have additional access needs, please let us know on the RSVP form.
Join us as we step into The Impact Garden, an end-of-year celebration honoring the creativity, resilience, and growth cultivated by our grantee community.
Every year, our grantees (educators, students, caregivers, and community members) are tasked with turning their dreams into reality. They see the challenges in their schools and communities firsthand, and we believe deeply that they are the experts in the solutions. This evening is about more than celebrating outcomes; it’s about honoring the journey. The ideas, pivots, lessons learned, and partnerships that helped each project take root and bloom.
This year, we funded 27 different projects across Durham Public Schools, supporting $135,000 being poured into our schools, honoring the expertise of these school communities to be solution-driven and make an impact! Projects supported post-secondary success, mentorship and leadership development, STEM exposure, addressing absenteeism, providing intentional wellness workshops and events, and so much more.
Throughout the evening, guests will wander through a vibrant gallery walk, explore interactive project displays, hear stories from grantees, and engage in hands-on experiences designed to spark connection and reflection. Together, we’ll celebrate what we’ve grown this year, and plant inspiration for what’s still to come.
We hope you’ll join us on May 21 from 5–7 PM for an evening of storytelling, creativity, and community.
What to Expect
Planting New Connections (Welcome Bingo): A fun, interactive way to meet new people
Round Robin Questions: Guided prompts to spark meaningful conversation
Garden Path Gallery Walk: Follow the path through themed project zones featuring
Before & After Bloom Boards showcasing ideas from “seed” to “bloom”
Pollinator Stations – Plant Your Seed of Impact: Decorate a terracotta pot, plant an herb, and take it home
Bloom Bar (Craft Station): Build your own paper bouquet with petals labeled with lessons learned, big wins, and hopes for next year
Care Kit / Take What You Need Station: A space centered on rest, care, and support for our grantees
Photo Booth: Capture the joy and celebration
🎶 You’ll also have the option to submit your favorite song for the night when you RSVP to help shape the soundtrack of the evening.
Interested in donating to our grants program, you can do so here: https://bullcityschools.app.neoncrm.com/forms/91
Sponsor Shoutouts! (Here's our Garden of Support - helping to bloom the belief in our students, educators, and caregivers)
Mark Jacobson Toyota
Fidelity
Stacey Sprenz Photography
Publix
Chick-Fil-A (Roxboro)
Dudley Flood Center for Educational Equity and Opportunity
Eastcut Sandwiches
Questions? Email [email protected]