St. Joseph Public Schools student athletes are getting a new path to financial support from area parents and fans of school-sanctioned sports.

Launching this week is The Maize and Blue Fund – a new initiative created to, “raise, steward, and distribute resources to enrich and support the experiences of athletics at St. Joseph Public Schools.”

Maize and Blue Fund President Rick Dyer tells us the fund is different from boosters and will work on a broad array of projects that enrich the student athlete experience.

“The whole purpose here is to support athletics throughout the district at all levels, at all sports,” Dyer says. “We believe in the value of athletics and what athletics helps with in well-rounded students that are produced by St. Joseph Public Schools.”

Organizers say the Maize and Blue Fund mission is to ensure that all athletic programs, teams, and activities benefit — not just select sports or groups. School board president Kerry Wright says this fund can have a significant impact on the student body and athletics.

“I would love for the Maize and Blue Fund to get to that point one day where we’re fundraising significant dollars and then distributing those resources to our student-athletes,” Wright says. “The ability for this Maize and Blue Fund to impact a huge number of students in the district is what gets me excited.”

The nonprofit foundation consists of a 15-member board, and they say they will work in a similar fashion to the St. Joseph Public Schools Foundation.

During its first meeting this week, organizers announced the foundation has already received donation commitments of $60,000.