J.E. Cosgriff and community partnerships: a FRESH approach

Courtesy photo/J.E. Cosgriff Memorial School

+ Enlarge

Fresh Market, the Associated Foods grocery store located just across the street from J.E. Cosgriff Memorial School, has become a community partner with the school.

SALT LAKE CITY — At J.E. Cosgriff Memorial Catholic School, we know that there is strength in numbers. The whole is always greater than the sum of its parts, and that holds true more than ever when the "whole" is our community at large. We have been working hard at extending ourselves beyond the walls of our school, past the arms of our Saint Ambrose Parish community, and out into the community we thrive in. This is demonstrated in the community partnership initiative that we have started at Cosgriff this year, called Partnerships in Scholarship. This program invites businesses and individuals in the community to partner with our school, enriching and strengthening student learning, company morale and community bonds.

The first company to join us in this endeavor was Fresh Market, the Associated Foods grocery store, located just across the street from our school at 2040 South 2300 East. Store Manager Chris Otteson has been enthusiastic and generous from the start. So far this year, Fresh Market has provided snacks and water for our annual Play Bad in Plaid golf tournament, furnished food and beverages for our back-to-school retreat as well as our weekly faculty meetings, given $500 to our school for the School Cents store receipt program, and they have also donated $1,000 in school supplies through the School Supplies for a Local Student Drive. This month, Fresh Market will provide the food for our annual Grandparents’ Brunch celebration, except for the sausage, which is always provided by Bob and Margaret Grogan, and the coffee, which will be donated by Mark Isaac and Joffee’s Coffee.

In return for this gracious support, we sell Fresh Market scrip cards at Cosgriff and inform our families about the ways in which Fresh Market helps our school so that when they shop, Fresh Market is forefront in their minds. We advertise for the store in all of our publications, at all of our fundraising and school-wide events, and add their name to all advertising materials for events.

This partnership forges strong bonds within our community, strengthening the "whole." At J. E. Cosgriff Memorial School, we specialize in educating children. That is what we do well. We know that we need to partner with other organizations, like Fresh Market, who have other strengths in order to do great things.