Crew chief's story - The foundation facts
Passkeys Foundation is a community focused, publicly supported non-profit foundation founded in 1979 by Russell Williams. The foundation became a full-time, publicly active organization in the Orange County community in 1996.
The foundation presents its programs and publications for educational and charitable purposes in order to promote self-awareness and patriotism and foster emotional and spiritual growth in individuals based on the importance of ethical and character development in the family, community and society as a whole.
Learn more about the foundation's programs, collaborations and publications by selecting one of the topics under the Programs and Publications column to the right.
In December, 1999, the Jefferson Center for Character Education, merged with Passkeys Foundation to form one non-profit entity. In early 2000 Passkeys Foundation changed its corporate name to Passkeys Foundation Jefferson Center for Character Education.
The Jefferson Center for Character Education, formerly known as the Thomas Jefferson Research Center was founded in 1963 by Frank Goble as a non-profit corporation. In its thirty-eight year history, the Center has worked in nearly every state of the nation, in major metropolitan cities, as well as in Canada.
The Center’s educational curricula and publications have been used in 6,000 schools and in approximately 60,000 classrooms reaching an estimated four million students.
The Center focuses on the systematic teaching of the life values of personal responsibility, honesty, respect, integrity, courage, tolerance, justice, and politeness.
The Center currently has two curriculums that are in use throughout the United States in elementary and middle schools. The two curriculums are (a) the elementary school curriculum, STAR Responsibility Skills Success Through Accepting Responsibility and (b) the three-year middle school curriculum, How To Be Successful in Less Than 10 Minutes a Day.
The Center funded an independent study conducted in the early 1990’s within the Los Angeles Unified School District which evaluated the systematic use of the Center’s school curriculum in classrooms. The following results were confirmed after one year:
- Major discipline problems including fighting, drugs, and weapons decreased by 25%
- Minor discipline problems dropped by 39%
- Suspensions declined by 16%
- Number of tardy students dropped by 40%
- Unexcused absences fell by 18%
Currently, the STAR program is experiencing success in schools in fifteen states.
Board of Directors
David Leckness
Owner, Qwik Copy Printing, Mission Viejo
Debbie C. Meeker
Orange County Volunteer Resource to Non-Profit Organizations, Orange County
Retired Nurse
Judith A. Williams
4th Grade Teacher, Saddleback Valley Unified School District, Mission Viejo
CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER
Russell T. Williams
STAFF/OFFICE SUPPORT
William Klimek
Business and Community Services Coordinator Volunteer
Kathy Richardson
Classic Personalized Office Services
Professional Consultants
Craig Lucas
Attorney At Law, Pasadena
Stephen Sommers
Attorney At Law, Pasadena
Mary Brubaker
Mary Brubaker, C.P.A., Cherry Valley
Ivan Taylor
Video Editor, Web Design
The Creative Edge
