The Gloucester Education Foundation drives innovation, encourages creativity, expands student opportunities, and empowers educators to strengthen teaching and learning in the Gloucester Public School District. Since 2005, we have raised over $11 million to support thousands of students in the Gloucester Schools.

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O'Maley Courtyard

See What’s Happening at GEF!

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GEF FY25 Impact Report celebrates hands-on learning!
GEF FY25 Impact Report celebrates hands-on learning!
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Arts Fest 2025: a grand success!
Arts Fest 2025: a grand success!

A recap of GEF and GPS’s annual celebration of arts and creativity!

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Power of Play Returns in 2025!
Power of Play Returns in 2025!

Everyone’s favorite “Day of Play” is back!

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2024 was a big year - check out some highlights!
2024 was a big year - check out some highlights!

Our annual Year-in-Review

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20th Anniversary Gala was a joyful night of reflection, celebration, and inspiration. From GEF senior @jeferson_do_carmo07 'skeynote speech to @senatorbrucetarr's rousing auction to our current and past board presidents' movings toast to the unbelie
20th Anniversary Gala was a joyful night of reflection, celebration, and inspiration. From GEF senior @jeferson_do_carmo07 'skeynote speech to @senatorbrucetarr's rousing auction to our current and past board presidents' movings toast to the unbelievable outpouring of support for GEF's two decades of impact to the parade of sequins, SPARKS SURE DID FLY! Icing on the (gorgeous @caffesicilia01930) cake? Sharing the concept for the new O'Maley courtyard! Learn all about it at www.thinkthebest.org/courtyard ! Link in bio. 📸 by GHS Class of 2024's Cameron Widtfeldt
GEF’s 20th Anniversary Gala. Jeferson Do Carmo is a senior at Gloucester High School and is serving in his 3rd year as a GEF Student Advisor. He is active in many GHS programs. Jeferson was selected as our student speaker because he represents what happens when students take advantage of every opportunity GPS has to offer, especially those funded by GEF. He is an accomplished and articulate student, and an all-around wonderful person who constantly seeks to make a positive impact on his community. He is a leader in everything he does and makes Gloucester and GEF proud.
We have some seriously delicious food + drink items in our online silent auction. You have two more days to get in on the action and place a bid! (While we celebrate, we also know many of our neighbors struggle with food insecurity - always, but esp
We have some seriously delicious food + drink items in our online silent auction. You have two more days to get in on the action and place a bid! (While we celebrate, we also know many of our neighbors struggle with food insecurity - always, but especially right now. Please consider a donation to The Open Door to match your bid on one of these silent auction items ♥).
So fun to watch GEF volunteer and interior designer Rochelle Grenier of @soughtinteriors lay out our photo gallery for the gala today! 20 years of GEF in pictures…we can’t wait to hang this at @cruiseportgloucester on Thursday!
So fun to watch GEF volunteer and interior designer Rochelle Grenier of @soughtinteriors lay out our photo gallery for the gala today! 20 years of GEF in pictures…we can’t wait to hang this at @cruiseportgloucester on Thursday!
It’s game day for the red-hot Pats! 🏈 🔥 Get in on the action with amazing GEF online auction items for every sports fan, from Patriots–Giants tickets (with parking!) to a signed Red Sox baseball, a women’s college hockey experienc
It’s game day for the red-hot Pats! 🏈 🔥 Get in on the action with amazing GEF online auction items for every sports fan, from Patriots–Giants tickets (with parking!) to a signed Red Sox baseball, a women’s college hockey experience, and a 2026 season pass to North Shore Adventures. Don’t sit on the sidelines: place your bids today!👇🏼
Happy Halloween! Enjoy and be safe. 👻🎃 AND: looking for some special family activities once Spooky Season ends? Check out all of the family-friendly items and packages in GEF's 20th Anniversary online auction! Thanks to our generous community, you
Happy Halloween! Enjoy and be safe. 👻🎃 AND: looking for some special family activities once Spooky Season ends? Check out all of the family-friendly items and packages in GEF's 20th Anniversary online auction! Thanks to our generous community, your next stocking stuffer, birthday party, or family tradition could support GEF's dynamic programs for GPS instead of a big box store or anonymous corporation! Place your bids now through November 6th 👉🏼 www.thinkthebest.org/auction
The GEF Gala is sold out, but anyone can get in on the action with our online auction! Bidding opens today and continues through November 6th, and the items are amazing: 🍣Been dying to try the omikase at @sushisanglee ? ⛷Craving a winter adventure
The GEF Gala is sold out, but anyone can get in on the action with our online auction! Bidding opens today and continues through November 6th, and the items are amazing: 🍣Been dying to try the omikase at @sushisanglee ? ⛷Craving a winter adventure in the White Mountains? 🐄Kids want a behind-the-scenes tour of the 2026 Topsfield Fair? 🎨Want to own an original by one of Cape Ann's incredible artists? 🎄Want help from @sugarmagnoliasgloucesterma for your holiday party? 🏈Want to check out the red-hot @patriots (and not worry about parking)? 🎳⛸ How about letting @capeannlanes or Talbot Rink host your next birthday? 🐋☀🚣🏾‍♀️🏖 Thinking ahead to summer already? We got you covered with a yacht tour, season pass to @north.shore.adventures, a beach bundle from @gortonsseafood, tennis lessons with Avis Murray, and so much more! Heck, there's even a LABUBU in there! Join the fun at www.thinkthebest.org/auction. Your participation fuels programs that make learning come alive: in classrooms, on stages, and in labs across Gloucester schools. So browse, bid, share widely, and help us keep the sparks flying for another 20 years!
GEF Board Member Dawn - and GEF Board Dog Pip! - passed out candy in front of our office during the adorable Toddler Halloween Parade today. Always a happy day on Main Street! 🎃 👻 🍭
GEF Board Member Dawn - and GEF Board Dog Pip! - passed out candy in front of our office during the adorable Toddler Halloween Parade today. Always a happy day on Main Street! 🎃 👻 🍭
The GHS Carpentry Shop built these AMAZING Little Free Libraries for GEF! They will be auctioned off at our gala on 11/6, to be placed at each elementary school (after being painted by students in each school’s signature colors 💙💚🩵💜). PLUS: there’s a fifth one that a lucky community member will win for their home or neighborhood, too, through our 20th anniversary silent auction! It goes live on Monday at www.thinkthebest.org, and anyone can place a bid - you don’t need gala tickets to get in on the celebration. Thank you to Carpentry teacher Steve Abell for leading this effort, and volunteer Kristin Michel for dreaming up the idea.
There is NOTHING more fun than a sparkly dress-up party at Bananas 🍌 … …except, we suspect, GEF’s 20th Anniversary Gala on November 6th, where sparks will fly! Do you have YOUR outfit and bling lined-up yet?? ✨ ✨ ✨ Thank you to Gala Committee Member @saraseber_realtor for organizing this with videographer @tomcurry for @evbythesea, Richard Leonard of @bananasvintagegloucester, and our supermodels (Maggie Rosa, Stuart + Emily Siegel, Val Gilman, and Sara Seber).
The GHS Gender Equity in STEM Club is off to an amazing start this year! Supported by a generous multiyear grant from @applied__materials to GEF, the club kicked off the year with a packed first meeting (52 students!) and an inspiring guest speaker
The GHS Gender Equity in STEM Club is off to an amazing start this year! Supported by a generous multiyear grant from @applied__materials to GEF, the club kicked off the year with a packed first meeting (52 students!) and an inspiring guest speaker event featuring Nicole Carter Quinn, Executive Director of the Women and Public Policy Program at the Harvard Kennedy School. Hat tip to Club Coordinator Roseann Vidal and GHS Science Teacher Eric Leigh, who together with their students have created something pretty spectacular for GHS. Can't wait to see what their first field trip will be!
Have you heard that GEF and GPS are exploring a renovation of the O’Maley Courtyard, that dull concrete slab in front of the school? WE ARE! This ambitious effort feels like the right undertaking for GEF’s 20th anniversary year: a reimagi
Have you heard that GEF and GPS are exploring a renovation of the O’Maley Courtyard, that dull concrete slab in front of the school? WE ARE! This ambitious effort feels like the right undertaking for GEF’s 20th anniversary year: a reimagined, active, vibrant courtyard will benefit thousands of students, staff and families for decades to come, every single day. Over the past week we’ve met with O’Maley students, teachers, administrators, parents/caregivers (past-present-future) and city officials to begin looking at draft concepts created by @agencylp, the landscape architects GEF hired to conduct a feasibility study (these are some of the folks that re-designed Boston’s City Hall Plaza!). Lots of input and feedback and great ideas were gathered, and the overwhelming response, across the board, was: “THIS WOULD BE SO AWESOME!”, followed by “WHEN CAN THIS HAPPEN?!?” (it would be, and we’re still early in the process 😉) Want to learn more? Join GEF at our 20th Anniversary Gala on 11/6/25 where we will be sharing a concept that takes lots of stakeholders’ ideas into consideration, with O’Maley students at the center. Link in bio for tickets 🎟️! They’re going fast…
We had a lovely gathering at @talise_restaurant tonight, where GEF champions and GEF newbies came together to mix and mingle and hear about 20 years of impact - and what’s coming next! The highlight was hearing from GHS senior Rafael Jabba, w
We had a lovely gathering at @talise_restaurant tonight, where GEF champions and GEF newbies came together to mix and mingle and hear about 20 years of impact - and what’s coming next! The highlight was hearing from GHS senior Rafael Jabba, who shared his experience in the GEF-funded engineering and band programs. Keep an eye on this kid; he’s headed for greatness. Thank you to Ariel and Josh Smith for opening their lovely space on a night off; to hosts Maggie Rosa and @saraseber_realtor for gathering such a wonderful group of supporters; and to everyone who came out to celebrate and learn more. We’ll see you at our 20th Anniversary Gala on 11/6!
Hearing these students play Metallica’s “Enter Sandman” yesterday was the perfect start to our week! Make it even better by supporting their band program, which is facing a shortfall this year. GEF and GPS want to ensure that ANY 4t
Hearing these students play Metallica’s “Enter Sandman” yesterday was the perfect start to our week! Make it even better by supporting their band program, which is facing a shortfall this year. GEF and GPS want to ensure that ANY 4th-8th grader that wants to learn an instrument can, at no cost to their family. Thank you to @musicdrivesus for putting a big dent in our fundraising yesterday with a generous $10,000 grant! Read all about it in the Gloucester Daily Times, and see links in comments to donate today 👇🏽
📣Calling all Gloucester High School families!📣 The annual Cape Ann College & Career Fair is Tuesday 9/30 at Ipswich High School!
📣Calling all Gloucester High School families!📣 The annual Cape Ann College & Career Fair is Tuesday 9/30 at Ipswich High School!
20th Anniversary Gala was a joyful night of reflection, celebration, and inspiration. From GEF senior @jeferson_do_carmo07 'skeynote speech to @senatorbrucetarr's rousing auction to our current and past board presidents' movings toast to the unbelie
GEF’s 20th Anniversary Gala. Jeferson Do Carmo is a senior at Gloucester High School and is serving in his 3rd year as a GEF Student Advisor. He is active in many GHS programs. Jeferson was selected as our student speaker because he represent
We have some seriously delicious food + drink items in our online silent auction. You have two more days to get in on the action and place a bid! (While we celebrate, we also know many of our neighbors struggle with food insecurity - always, but esp So fun to watch GEF volunteer and interior designer Rochelle Grenier of @soughtinteriors lay out our photo gallery for the gala today! 20 years of GEF in pictures…we can’t wait to hang this at @cruiseportgloucester on Thursday! It’s game day for the red-hot Pats! 🏈 🔥 Get in on the action with amazing GEF online auction items for every sports fan, from Patriots–Giants tickets (with parking!) to a signed Red Sox baseball, a women’s college hockey experienc Happy Halloween! Enjoy and be safe. 👻🎃 AND: looking for some special family activities once Spooky Season ends? Check out all of the family-friendly items and packages in GEF's 20th Anniversary online auction! Thanks to our generous community, you The GEF Gala is sold out, but anyone can get in on the action with our online auction! Bidding opens today and continues through November 6th, and the items are amazing: 🍣Been dying to try the omikase at @sushisanglee ? ⛷Craving a winter adventure GEF Board Member Dawn - and GEF Board Dog Pip! - passed out candy in front of our office during the adorable Toddler Halloween Parade today. Always a happy day on Main Street! 🎃 👻 🍭
The GHS Carpentry Shop built these AMAZING Little Free Libraries for GEF! They will be auctioned off at our gala on 11/6, to be placed at each elementary school (after being painted by students in each school’s signature colors 💙💚🩵💜). PLUS
There is NOTHING more fun than a sparkly dress-up party at Bananas 🍌 … …except, we suspect, GEF’s 20th Anniversary Gala on November 6th, where sparks will fly! Do you have YOUR outfit and bling lined-up yet?? ✨ ✨ ✨ Thank you t
The GHS Gender Equity in STEM Club is off to an amazing start this year! Supported by a generous multiyear grant from @applied__materials to GEF, the club kicked off the year with a packed first meeting (52 students!) and an inspiring guest speaker Have you heard that GEF and GPS are exploring a renovation of the O’Maley Courtyard, that dull concrete slab in front of the school? WE ARE! This ambitious effort feels like the right undertaking for GEF’s 20th anniversary year: a reimagi We had a lovely gathering at @talise_restaurant tonight, where GEF champions and GEF newbies came together to mix and mingle and hear about 20 years of impact - and what’s coming next! The highlight was hearing from GHS senior Rafael Jabba, w Hearing these students play Metallica’s “Enter Sandman” yesterday was the perfect start to our week! Make it even better by supporting their band program, which is facing a shortfall this year. GEF and GPS want to ensure that ANY 4t 📣Calling all Gloucester High School families!📣 The annual Cape Ann College & Career Fair is Tuesday 9/30 at Ipswich High School!