The community of Bayside and Jacoby Creek Elementary School alumni and staff lost a special member of the community on November 6, 2020. Some of you may remember Bev Welch. She was the crossing guard and school staff member from 1986 until she retired in 2014. She was the first face most of the students saw each day when they arrived on campus and was a large part of making students and families feel at home and remain safe as they crossed the busy intersection before and after school.
As a tribute to her memory, a small committee of people came together with The Rotary Club of Arcata Sunrise and Jacoby Creek Elementary School to plan a way to honor her memory on campus. The plan is to create and install a bench on campus so students can rest in a quiet space and read or visit with their friends (see photo of where it will be placed). The purpose of this GoFundMe is to allow Alumni or community members to be able to contribute in honor of Bev and make this memorial possible.
The remainder of the money raised will be used to help create a mural on campus that the children and the staff are planning together. This mural will have art submitted by the children with the message of "Ways that we lift each other up". As Bev was an artist, we believe that she would wholeheartedly support this project and would have loved to have seen this vision turn into a reality, as the message is aligned with the spirit that so many of us remember about Bev. She was supportive, encouraging, and kind to JCS students and families.
This fundraiser is sponsored by Rotary Club of Arcata Sunrise. If you prefer to mail a check the address is: PO Box 4197, Arcata, CA 95518
or Venmo @RotaryClub-Arcata Sunrise. Indicate on your donation that this is for the Memorial Community Service Project. All donations are eligible for a tax deduction as the Rotary Club is a non-profit.
