Red Ventures CEO helps classroom teachers in York and Lancaster counties

Teachers in York and Lancaster counties didn’t need a hashtag to know Thursday was the Best School Day for them.

Teachers at 28 schools in York and Lancaster counties saw their DonorsChoose projects fully funded thanks to the generosity of Ric Elias, chief executive officer and co-founder of Red Ventures in Indian Land.

Elias donated more than $40,000 to fund the regional projects. It was part of a larger donation as Elias funded all the projects in several South Carolina counties as well as those in Mecklenburg County in North Carolina.

His donation was part of more than $14 million assembled from a who’s who list of donors in the sports, entertainment and business world. The donations helped more than 12,000 schools nationwide.

Business donors of note included Jack Dorsey, co-founder & CEO of Twitter, and Bill and Melinda Gates.

Thursday’s announcement came one year after comedian and South Carolina native Stephen Colbert partnered with Share Fair Nation and Scan Source to fund every classroom project in South Carolina on DonorsChoose.org. They contributed $800,000 to fund nearly 1,000 projects for more than 800 teachers at more than 375 schools. Schools in York, Lancaster and Chester benefited from their donation.

Thursday’s donations funded a variety of school needs in York and Lancaster counties, from basics such as tables and chairs, to computers and books, to special chairs for students with learning disabilities.

Cotton Belt Elementary School in York was the biggest benefactor at about $7,000. Nine projects at the school were funded, eight of them by music teacher Bobbie Huntsinger.

Riverwalk Academy of Rock Hill had five projects funded at about $5,400.

Many of the requests were for books, including 100 copies of John Steinbeck’s 1937 novella “Of Mice and Men” for a project called “Explore the American Dream” at Rock Hill High School.

Elias was out of the country and unavailable for comment Thursday. In a blog post, Elias noted that “the power of paying it forward” was part of the corporate culture at Red Ventures.

Last year, Red Venture’s employee-driven Community Involvement Program supported 62 local and national organizations as determined by company employees.

Elias wrote, “We're proud to be a part of the continued growth of the Charlotte area – and as such, we aim to play a significant role shaping the future of our community by donating our time, talents and financial resources.

“Our promise is that Red Ventures will keep investing in the young people in our community – and beyond.”

This story was originally published March 10, 2016 at 5:10 PM with the headline "Red Ventures CEO helps classroom teachers in York and Lancaster counties."