New Businesses Investing in Burlingame's Future
This year, more local businesses chose to invest in Burlingame students through BCE, helping strengthen the programs that make our schools exceptional.
During the 2025-26 school year, BCE welcomed 37 new Business Partners, bringing the total amount contributed by local businesses to more than $245,000. Together, these partnerships help fund the music, performing arts, world languages, physical education, and academic intervention programs that enrich the educational experience for every Burlingame public school student.
What's especially exciting is not simply that BCE’s business partner network is growing, but who is joining it. This year's newest sponsors reflect the incredible diversity of the Burlingame business community. They include a youth sports organization dedicated to building confidence through athletics, a global design brand with a new downtown showroom, a lifelong Burlingame resident and local real estate professional, and an innovative wellness business that recently opened its doors on Burlingame Avenue. They serve different customers, bring different expertise, and represent different industries. Yet they are all investing in students as an investment in the future of Burlingame.
"Our business partner community has become stronger and more diverse every year. It's wonderful to see organizations with such different missions and backgrounds united by a shared commitment to helping Burlingame students thrive. That's something our entire community can be proud of." said BCE Executive Director Meredith Dunn. "They're supporting BCE because they believe strong public schools make our entire community stronger."
Some of this year’s new business partners are current Burlingame parents. Others have children who have already graduated. Some are longtime residents who want to give back to the community they love, while others are new to Burlingame and immediately wanted to become part of what makes this city so special.
For Packie and Bianca Turner of UP Basketball, supporting BCE reflects their passion for helping young people build confidence, resilience, and leadership both on and off the court. For Kohler Store Manager Iryna Sokolova, it is a natural extension of a belief that creativity, design, and self-expression deserve a place in every child's education. Realtor Malin Kansal sees supporting BCE as another way to invest in the community where he lives, works, and is raising his family. And for Levit8 Lounge owner Alana Kleinerman, partnering with BCE reflects her belief that thriving communities are built when local organizations, families, and businesses support one another. While each business has its own story, they each recognize that excellent schools don't happen by accident. They happen because communities choose to invest in them.
For new businesses, becoming a BCE Business Partner is also an opportunity to become more connected to the Burlingame community. Levit8 Lounge, which opened in 2025, experienced that firsthand. Through BCE’s email promotions, newsletters, and other marketing opportunities, the luxury beauty lounge was introduced to local families as it established its presence in Burlingame. The partnership also led to a Wellness and Beauty event hosted with BCE that brought more than 50 new clients through Levit8’s doors, many of whom have since become regular customers. “BCE has given us a wonderful way to reach local families, grow our business, and become part of the Burlingame community,” said co-owners Alana Kleinerman and Michelle White.
For Levit8, that experience illustrates one of the ways BCE’s Business Partner Program can create a genuine connection between local businesses and the families they serve. “We love being able to support our local schools while also building meaningful connections within the community,” Kleinerman and White said. “We’re proud to support our schools, and it’s exciting to see how that support comes full circle by helping local businesses like ours grow.” The relationship goes beyond a donation. Businesses have opportunities to introduce themselves to the community while supporting the schools that are such an important part of Burlingame’s identity.
For other businesses, becoming a BCE Business Partner is a natural extension of the work they already do in the community. Healthy Horizons, a Burlingame business for more than 35 years, has built its mission around supporting new mothers and families, first through its Burlingame Breastfeeding Center and now through workplace lactation services offered to employers across the U.S. and Canada. For the Janakos family, supporting local children and families through BCE was a natural fit. “Investing in our children is non-negotiable. When kids and families thrive, our entire community thrives,” the Healthy Horizons team shared.
That commitment reflects something many of BCE’s newest Business Partners have in common: they see their businesses as part of the larger community, not separate from it. Healthy Horizons founder Sheila Dukas-Janakos puts it simply when she says, “We believe in being the change we want to see.” Businesses like Healthy Horizons and Levit8 are contributing in different ways to the same goal: building a Burlingame where families can put down roots, businesses can flourish, and children have the opportunity to grow and succeed.
"Burlingame's business community continues to amaze me," said Scott Smith, BCE Co-Vice President of Business Development. "Whether I'm talking with a small family-owned business or a nationally recognized brand with local roots, I hear the same thing over and over. Business owners want to be part of something bigger than themselves. They want to strengthen the community where they live, work, and serve their customers."
The next time you're shopping, dining, or looking for a local service, we encourage you to support the businesses that support our schools. Their investment helps make Burlingame an extraordinary place for students, families, and the entire community. We also hope you'll join us in thanking these businesses for choosing to invest in opportunities that benefit every child in Burlingame Public Schools.
Join Us
As BCE begins recruiting Business Partners for the 2026-27 school year, we invite other local businesses to join this growing network of community leaders. Business sponsorship is a meaningful way to support Burlingame students while connecting your organization with families who value education and community involvement.
To learn more about becoming a BCE Business Partner, please contact our Business Development team at business@bcefoundation.org. Together, businesses, families, educators, and neighbors can continue creating the exceptional opportunities that help every Burlingame student learn, grow, and thrive.
